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MAIN  LlBKA*Y-AG*lCUL.TmtC 


Compliments  of 


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INCLUDING 


CEREALS  AND  FORAGE  PLANTS. 


BY 


J.  B.  KILLEBREW,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D., 

Commissioner  of  AgriGulture,  Statistics  and  Mines. 


NASHVILLE: 
THE  AMERICAN  CO.,  PEINTERS  TO  THE  STATE. 

1878. 


MAIM  UWIARY-AGfUCULTUBE 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  by  J.  B.  Killebrew,  Commissioner,  in  the  office  of 
the  Librarian  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 


In  the  preparation  of  this  work  all  available  sources  of  information 
to  be  had  in  Europe  or  America  have  been  consulted.  Free  use  has 
been  made  of  the  standard  works  of  Gray,  Flint,  Gould  and  Howard, 
and  also  of  the  reports  of  the  Agricultural  Department  at  Washington, 
as  well  as  the  numerous  State  reports.  The  admirable  works  of  Prof. 
S.  W.  Johnson,  of  Yale  College,  have  supplied  me  with  valuable  in- 
formation. I  have  had  access  to  the  various  publications  of  Baron 
Liebig,  the  pioneer  in  agricultural  science,  and  have  also  derived  much 
aid  from  the  painstaking  researches  of  Wolff  and  Knop,  of  Germany ; 
of  Johnson,  Way,  Sinclair,  Mechi,  Voelcker.  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  of 
England,  and  from  the  reports  of  the  Highland  Society  of  Scotland. 
The  little  work  of  Edmund  Murphy,  of  Ireland,  has  been  suggestive. 
I  have  relied  mainly,  however,  upon  the  experience,  observation  and 
Buccess  o4!:  'the  best  farmers  of  our  own  State.  Reference  is  made 
elsewhere  to  the  great  assistance  received  from  Dr.  W.  M.  Clarke,  Dr. 
Gattinger  and  Prof.  Hunter  Nicholson.  The  work  is  the  result  of  much 
labor,  and  I  indulge  the  hope  that  it  may  be  instrumental  in  directing 
the  minds  of  our  farmers  to  the  importance  of  the  grasses  in  the  solu- 
lution  of  the  problem  of  agricultural  thrift  and  prosperity. 

It  is  due  to  Mrs.  Clare  Snivel} ,  of  Nashville,  to  say  that  the  cuts 
which  appear  in  the  work  were  executed  by  her,  many  of  them  from 
original  drawings. 

Several  verbal  errors  escaped  the  proof  reader,  many  of  which  were 
detected  and  corrected  before  the  full  edition  of  the  book  was  worked 
off.  On  page  14,  fifteenth  line  from  the  top,  there  is  an  error  in  the 
statement  made.  There  are  in  fact  about  eighty  species  of  sedges  and 
rushes  found  growing  in  the  State,  very  few  of  which  are  eaten  by 
cattle.  The  "  broomsedge,"  so  called,  is  not  a  sedge,  but  a  true  grass, 
belonging  to  the  genus  andropogon,  and  forms  the 'chief  summer  graz- 
ing of  the  Cumberland  Mountains.  It  should  be  called  broom  grass. 

J.  B.  KILLEBREW. 
July  27,  1878. 


To  His  Excellency,  Governor  James  D.  Porter  : 

Herewith  is  submitted  a  treatise  on  the  Grasses  and  Forage  plants  of 
Tennessee.  The  geographical  position  of  Tennessee  eminently  fits  it  to  be- 
come a  great  grain  and  stock-growing  State.  In  1840,  Tennessee  was  the 
largest  corn-producing  State  in  the  Union.  Difficult  and  tedious  trans- 
portation made  it  necessary  to  feed  this  corn  at  home,  and  so  in  1850,  it 
took  the  foremost  rank  in  the  production  of  hogs.  The  Northwest,  with 
its  virgin  soil,  was  able  to  supply  meat  and  bread  cheaper  than  Tennessee, 
and  it  became  necessary  for  her  people  to  turn  their  attention  in  another 
direction.  The  demand  for  mules  by  the  cotton-growing  States  opened  a 
new  avenue  to  agricultural  industry,  so  that  in  1860,  she  became  the  largest 
mule-producing  State  in  the  Union. 

The  shock  given  to  all  her  industries  by  the  war,  and  especially  to  her 
agricu  tural  interests,  by  the  destruction  of  her  labor  system,  so  disabled 
her  that  she  bore  off  no  prize  in  the  census  returns  of  1870.  The  destruc- 
tion of  her  labor  system,  however,  has  tended  to  direct  the  minds  of  her 
farmers  to  a  system  of  agriculture  in  which  less  labor  will  be  required. 
The  sowing  of  more  grass,  and  the  raising  of  beef-cattle  and  improved 
hogs  and  shee|^  will  probably  show  the  direction  of  her  growth  in  the 
future.  The  estimates  by  the  Agricultural  Department  at  Washington 
show  a  gradual  increase  in  the  acreage  of  land  devoted  to  hay,  as  indi- 
cated by  the  following  table  : 

The  amount,  acreage  and  value  of  hay  produced  in  Tennessee  each  year, 
since  1870,  are  as  follows: 


YEAR. 

TONS. 

ACHES. 

VALUE. 

1870 

155  000 

108  391 

$9  57Q  200 

1871  

124,000 

83,783 

2  055  920 

1872  

117,000 

96694 

1  808  820 

1873  

134,500 

107  600 

2  084  750 

1874  

114,300 

103  909 

2  180  844 

1875  

145,000 

106  617 

2  354  800 

1876  

165,000 

121  323 

2  237  400 

The  United  States  census  shows  the  production  of  hay  in  Tennessee : 

1850 74091  tons 

1860 143,499    " 

1870 116,582    " 

The  total  production  of  hay  in  the  United  States  for  1870,  was  27,316,- 
048?  or  about  1,400  pounds  per  head  for  each  inhabitant,  while  in  Tennes- 


IV 

gee  there  were  not  quite  200  pounds  per  head,  showing  that,  per  capita,  the 
people  of  Tennessee  produced  only  one-seventh  as  much  hay  as  the  aver- 
erage  production  of  the  people  throughout  the  United  States. 

This  is  to  be  regretted,  for  the  world  over,  agricultural  prosperity 
may  be  measured  by  the  amount  of  land  set  in  permanent  meadows  and 
pastures. 

Believing  that  the  tendency  of  the  farmers  of  our  State  is  to  decrease 
the  amount  of  land  devoted  to  cultivated  crops,  and  to  increase  the  acre- 
age in  grass,  I  have  felt  that  some  practical  treatise  on  the  management 
of  the  grasses  would  have  a  great  tendency  to  stimulate  the  movement  in 
this  'direction.  To  meet  this  want,  this  work  was  prepared.  In  its  prepa- 
ration I  have  had  the  aid  of  Prof.  Nicholson,  of  the  East  Tennessee  Uni- 
versity ;  of  Dr.  Gattinger,  of  Nashville,  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
botanists  in  the  South,  who  has  devoted  the  leisure  of  many  years  to  the 
study  of  the  flora  of  Tennessee  ;  and  of  Dr.  W.  M.  Clarke,  who  has  kindly 
assisted  me  in  preparing  the  work  for  the  press.  The  substantial  and 
ready  assistance  which  these  gentlemen  have  rendered,  fully  entitles  them 
to  share  with  me  in  the  authorship  of  the  work.  I  am  also  indebted  to 
many  other  gentlemen  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  whose  contributions 
will  be  found  scattered  throughout  the  work. 

I  trust  you  will  pardon  me,  Governor,  for  adding,  that  to  no  one  am  I 
more  indebted  than  to  yourself.  In  discharging  the  long  line  of  duties  de- 
volving upon  me  by  my  office,  I  have  been  constantly  sustained  by  your 
gentle  encouragement  and  assisted  by  your  judicious  advice.  I  am  sure 
I  utter  a  truth  when  I  say  that  no  one  now  takes,  or  heretofore  has  ever 
taken,  a  deeper  or  more  lively  interest  in  the  agricultural  prosperity,  men- 
tal progress  and  mineral  development  of  the  State  than  yourself. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  B.  KILLEBREW. 
March  12, 1878. 


AT? 

Ur 


INCLUDING 


FORAGE  PLANTS. 
I. 


GRASSES  IN  GENERAL. 

I 

In  this  part,  besides  giving  a  general  statement  as  to  the  importance  of 

grasses  in  a  oiational  point  of  view,  and  setting  forth  the  best  method  of 
preparing,  sowing  and  treating  meadows  and  pastures,  a  good  deal  of 
scientific  matter  has  been  introduced.  This  has  been  done  because 
there  is  springing  up  all  over  the  State  a  class  of  young  farmers  who, 
recognizing  tte  value  of  scientific  acquirements  in  connection  with 
practical  skill,  earnestly  desire  to  increase  their  knowledge  in  scientific 
agriculture.  Just  science  enough  has  been  incorporated  to  arouse  the 
ambition  of  this  class  to  excel  in  their  vocation  and  to  become  familiar 
with  the  fcientific  terms,  without  some  knowledge  of  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  make  any  permanent  progress.  The  description  of  the 
grasses  is  impossible  without  employing  some  technical  terms,  and  these 
terms  should  be  familiar  to  the  ambitious  farmer. 

A  table  has  also  been  prepared  by  which  any  one  of  studious  habits 
and  an  enquiring  mind  may  soon  learn  to  r  ame  the  grasses  with  which 
he  is  brought  into  daily  contact. 

The  strictly  scientific  chapters  have  been  designated  by  a  star,  so  that 
the  practical  farmer  who  desires  only  practical  information  may  pae» 
over  them.  In  the  other  parts  of  the  work  the  technical  or  scientific 
descriptions  will  be  put  in  small  type. 


THE     GRASSES 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  GRASSES — PLAN  OF  THE  WORK — 
FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  GRASSES — EXTENT  OF  THEIR  DIFFU- 
SION AND  HOW  DIFFUSED — SEDGE  GRASS  AND  OTHER 
WORTHLESS  VARIETIES  OMITTED — HOW  TO  TELL  THE 
GRASSES  FROM  SEDGES  AND  RUSHES. 

The  value  of  grass  in  agriculture  is  aptly  stated  in  the 
old  English  proverb: 

"No  grass  no  cattle, 

No  cattle  no  manure,  • 

No  manure  no  grass." 

Each  line  embodies  a  truth,  and  the  three  form  an  epi- 
tome of  successful  farming.  No  surer  test  of  the  degree  of 
agricultural  advancement  of  a  country  can  be  found  than 
the  relative  acreage  of  land  laid  down  to  grass  and  devoted 
to  tillage.  Wherever  the  grass  is  most  abundant  there  is 
the  highest  farming.  This  statement  is  most  strikingly  es- 
tablished by  comparing  the  agricultural  systems  of  France 
and  England.  In  France  53  per  cent,  of  the  tillable  land 
is  annually  sown  in  some  kind  of  grain,  while  in  England 
the  grain-bearing  per  cent,  of  land  is  only  25.  On  the 
other  hand,  while  France  has  but  22  per  cent,  in  grass, 
England  has  50.  Notwithstanding  this  difference  in  the 
amount  of  land  devoted  to  grain,  the  yield  of  wheat  to  each 
inhabitant  is  almost  identical  in  the  two  countries.  Every 
acre  of  grain  land  in  England  receives,  on  an  average,  the 
manure  from  the  animals  fed  off  three  acres  of  grass.  In 
France,  on  the  contrary,  the  manure  made  from  each  acre 
of  grass  has  to  be  spread  over  2J  acres  of  grain.  In  other 
words,  each  acre  of  grain  in  England  gets  nine  loads  of 
manure  to  one  load  given  to  the  acre  in  France. 


OF   TENNESSEE.  7 

A  further  comparison  would  show  that  the  acknowledged 
auperioiity  of  English  cattle,  sheep  and  other  domestic 
animals,  over  those  of  France,  or  any  other  country  for 
that  matter,  is  due  more  to  the  superiority  in  quality  and 
quantity  of  the  meadows  and  pastures  of  that  wonderful 
island  than  to  anything  else.  If  we  turn  our  attention  to 
other  countries  we  shall  find  that  the  amount  and  character 
of  grasses  grown  may  always  be  taken  as  a  measure  of  the 
degree  of  advancement  to  which  their  agriculture  hag 
reached.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  statement  holds 
good  only  of  the  cultivated  grasses,  but  of  these  it  is  perhaps 
universally  true. 

Under  this  test  the  agricultural  system  of  Tennessee  falls 
very  low.  It  is  a  notable  fact,  often  observed  and  com- 
mented upon,  that  the  great  leading,  dominating  error  in 
the  farming  o£  Tennessee  has  been,  and  is,  the  putting 
too  much  land  in  corn  and  oats,, and  too  little  in  grass. 
Under  this  system  a  very  large  breadth  of  the  land  has  been 
well-nigh  ruined.  Indeed  the  damage  is  so  serious  that 
some  change  has  come  to  be  absolutely  necessary.  Judging 
from  the  experience  of  other  countries,  the  one  and  only 
thing  capable  of  redeeming  this  almost  ruined  land  and 
saving  the  farmers  from  absolute  bankruptcy,  is  grass. 

Fortunately,  the  climate,  soil  and  geographical  locality 
of  Tennessee  all  combine  to  render  it  by  nature  a  grass 
region.  In  all  the  essentials  to  success  in  this  great  branch  of 
agriculture,  but  few  sections  of  the  United  States  surpass 
East  and  Middle  Tennessee,  while  the  northern  part  of 
West  Tennessee  is  well  suited  to  many  grasses.  It  is  not 
unreasonable  to  anticipate  at  no  distant  day,  under  an  im- 
proved system  of  farming,  these  natural  capabilities  will  be 
thoroughly  and  judiciously  developed,  and  where  now 
are  only  vast  wastes  and  forest  wilds,  trackless  and  unculti- 
vated, rich  pastures  will  bloom  and  countless  cattle  roam. 
But  no  such  result  can  come  without  a  radical  change  in 


8  THE    GRASSES 

the  farming  system ;  and  the  farmers  themselves  must  make 
the  change. 

"  Providence  helps  thoso  who  help  themselves." 

So,  also: 

"Providence  neglects  those  who  neglect  themselves." 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  this  most  desirable  change 
will  be  made  in  one  year,  or  in  any  small  number  of  years  ; 
it  is  not  even  assumed  that  the  change  could  be  made  in  a 
short  time.  All  that  can  be  reasonably  hoped  for  'is  that 
some  of  the  more  enterprising  farmers  may  take  the 
initiative  and  make  a  beginning.  By  examining  the  list  of 
grasses  given  elsewhere,  it  will  be  seen  that  Tennessee  bears 
_an  abundant  harvest,  and  that  a  large  selection  is  offered 
the  farmer.  But  it  will  not  be  in  attempting  experiments, 
in  new  or  untried  grasses  that  such  enterprising  farmers 
will  find  their  interest.  For  years  to  come  it  will  be  wise 
and  prudent  for  the  great  majority  of  farmers  to  confine 
themselves  to  the  improved  grasses.  Fortunately  among 
the  grasses  that  have  been  tested  are  kinds  adapted  to  each, 
even  of  the  widely  various  soils  of  Tennessee. 

From  the  circumstance  of  the  peculiar  position  of  Ten- 
uessee  as  a  border  State  to  the  cotton  belt,  she  has  lost  much 
time  in  agricultural  progress.  The  large  returns  of  the  cot- 
ton planters  South,  and  the  wonderful  ease  with  which  they 
achieved  great  wealth,  induced  those  living  near  to  attempt' 
the  same  role  that  succeded  so  well  further  south. 

With  how  much  success  this  plan  met,  can  be  seen  in  the 
dilapidated  farms,  the  huge  gullies  yawning  with  their  ugly 
yellow  faces  on  every  hill -slope.  This  condition  of  our 
State  is  the  more  reprehensible  when,  by  our  side,  are  seen 
the  lovely  meadows  and  the  sloping,  grassy  hill-sides  of 
Kentucky,  with  the  inevitable  accompaniment  of  fat  cattle 
and  browsing  sheep. 

Tennessee  possesses  in  her  bosom  all  the  elements  of  a 
grazing  country.  Scarcely  a  foot  of  land  exists  in  all  her 
borders  that  will  not  in  an  eminent  degree  meet  the  wants 


OP   TENNESSEE.  9 

of  some  one  or  other  of  the  graminece.  Living  streams  of 
water,  fed  by  perennial  springs,  as  sweet  as  those  of  Cas- 
talia,  hasten  down  the  mountain  slopes  and  lazily  meander 
through  the  beautiful  valleys.  Being  midway  between  the 
lakes  and  the  gulf,  we  live  just  4  where  the  warm,  moist 
southern  winds  encounter  the  condensing  blasts  of  the 
north,  so  that  we  are  rarely  the  sufferers  from  droughts. 
In  fact  nature  intended  this  State  as  a  gra/ing  region,  while 
man  in  his  thirst  for  riches  has  made  it  what  it  is.  But 
circumstances  are  driving  us  with  an  irresistable  impulse 
into  our  proper  channel.  Blessings  on  even  a  large  scale 
are  seldom  recognized  when  given,  but  the  roll  of  years  will 
soon  make  them  visible  to  all.  Had  our  slaves  continued 
with  us,  we  should  probably  not  have  assumed  our  proper 
sphere  for  many  decades  to  come.  But,  at  last,  we  find 
ourselves  with  a  large  breadth  of  land  that,  though  greatly 
worn,  is  still  full  of  •fertility,  and  without  due  labor  to 
cultivate  it  in  the  old  style.  What  is  more,  the  only  way 
in  which  these  lands  can  be  restored  to  their  pristine  condi- 
tion is  the  very  way  to  redound  to  the  permanent  wealth 
of  the  State.  This  is  by  removing  Tennesssee  from  her 
geographical  position.  Not  changing  her  longitude  or 
altering  her  latitude,  but  by  simply  converting  her  from  a 
fourth-rate  cotton  State  into  a  first-class  grazing  country. 

Grass  is  wealth.  As  lowly  and  humble  as  it  appears,  it 
comprises  about  one-sixth  of  all  the  vegetation  of  the 
world.  It  nourishes  more  animals  than  all  o^her  food 
combined,  and  furnishes  ail  the  elements  for  the  growth  of 
man. 

It  is  true  man  cannot,  like  Nebuchadnezzer,  feed  as  a 
beast  of  the  field,  but  he  can  and  does  appropriate  this  food 
after  it  has  been  assimilated  to  his  requirements  by  the 
ruminants.  Not  only  this,  but  through  its  wonderful 
chemical  and  vital  properties  it  extracts  from  the  great 
laboratory  of  nature — the  atmosphere — certain  gases  and 
fluids  hostile  to  man's  respiratory  organs,  thus  purifying 


10  THE  GRASSES 

the  air  for  his  use,  and  deposits  these  elements  in  the  soil, 
thereby  enriching  the  earth.  Hence  the  adage  with  which 
we  set  out,  "no  grass  no  cattle,  no  cattle  no  manure,  no 
manure  no  grass." 

This  explains  it  all.  Grass  enriches  the  land  and  fattens 
cattle,  cattle  feeds  man  and  makes  manure,  manure  enlivens 
the  soil  and  makes  crops.  There  is  an  eternal  revolution 
in  this.  Nothing  is  lost  in  this  circle.  Nature  repeats  here 
her  great  law  of  the  indestructibility  of  matter. 

But  all  soils  are  not  good  producers  of  any  one  kind  of 
grass. 

Nature,  in  her  benificence,  has  provided  for  this,  for  be- 
sides the  legumens  that  are  classed  as  artificials,  we  have 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  different  varieties  of  the  true 
grasses,  including  cereals.  Thus  the  marsh  and  the  sandy, 
thirsty  hill-sides,  the  loamy  valleys  and  the  rock-ribbed 
mountains,  the  shrubby  barrens  and  the  alluvial  bottoms, 
are  all  alike  provided  with  a  congenial  growth.  The  love 
of  the  pastoral  has  ever  existed  since  man  took  possession  of 
this  rich  heritage.  It  has  ever  held  a  first  place  in  the  songs 
and  poetry  of  the  world.  While  the  grand  epics  of  Homer 
have  stirred  the  hearts  of  the  warlike,  and  made  them  clash 
the  spear  against  the  sounding  shield,  the  gentle  idyls  of 
Virgil  have  recalled  man  to  the  sweets  of  domestic  hap- 
piness. The  piping  reed  of  the  peaceful  shepherd  has  no 
less  charm  for  humanity  than  the  spirit-stirring  drum  and 
fife,  or  the  joyous  vibrations  of  the  passionate  violin.  Art 
has  also  emulated  poesy  in  portraying  its  loveliness, 
and  the  landscape  is  never  perfect  on  the  canvass,  unless 
gamboling  lambs  or  grazing  herds  occupy  some  prominent 
place  in  the  picture.  A  traveler  passing  through  such  a 
scene  has  his  eye  constantly  delighted  with  the  ever  chang- 
ing panorama.  The  hay  wagon,  with  its  fragrant  loads, 
passing  to  the  teeming  barns;  the  beautiful  hill-sides,. car- 
peted with  its  cloth  of  green;  the  grain  field,  with  its  bil- 
lowy waves,  swayed  back  and  forth  by  the  gentlest  kisses  of 


OF   TENNESSEE.  11 

the  breeze,  while  the  tall  plumes  of  the  maize  keep  watch 
and  ward  over  the  plains,  all  contribute  to  the  joy  and  hap- 
piness around. 

Fat  cattle  and  bunchy  sheep  fitly  adorn  the  deep  green 
of  the  meadows,  and  is  one  of  the  highest  evidences  of  a 
high  civilization. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  grasses,  and  they  seem  to  be  so 
far  apart  in  appearance,  habits,  etc.,  that  they  would 
scarcely  be  considered  as  being  allied;  yet  the  necessary 
classification,  depending  upon  the  flowers,  leaves,  stems  and 
roots  botanically  connects  them. 

They  are  divided  into  two  general  classes,  natural  and 
artificial.  The  former  includes  those  grasses  with  long, 
simple,  narrow  leaves,  with  a  prominent  mid-rib  or  vein  in 
the  center,  and  smaller  ones  running  parallel  to  it,  and  at 
the  base,  the  leaf  divides  and  clasps  the  stem  in  such  a  way 
that  the  stem  seems  to  pass  through  it.  As  a  rule  the  stem 
is  hollow  and  closed  at  the  joints,  though  a  few  are  solid 
stemmed.  The  classification  of  grasses  would  be  impossible 
were  their  general  appearance  only  considered.  So  great 
are  the  changes  produced  by  modes  of  culture,  by  soil  and 
climate,  botanists,  to  arrive  at  the  precise  plant,  therefore, 
have  adopted  characteristics  that  undergo  no  change,  such 
as  flowers,  etc.  From  the  rule  of  botanists  in  giving  all 
plants  technical  names,  it  would  be  a  difficult  matter  to 
recognize  an  old  familiar  friend  under  the  new  guise  of  a 
generic  term,  but  we  will  endeavor,  by  giving  also  the 
name  in  common  use,  to  remove  this  difficulty  and  bring 
them  within  the  comprehension  of  any  one  who  will  take 
pains  to  properly  read  the  descriptions. 

Artificial  grass  includes  all  leguminous  plants,  such  as 
clover,  peas,  beans,  etc.,  while  cereals,  such  as  maize, 
wheat,  oats,  barley,  rye,  rice,  sorghum,  dhouro,  chocolate, 
corn  and  broom-corn,  though  really  true  grasses,  are  gen- 
erally classed  with  the  artificials. 


12  THE     GRASSES 

In  the  limits  of  this  work  it  would  be  impossible  to  give 
a  full  discription  of  all  known  graminese,  so  those  will  be 
considered  only  that  are  indigenous  or  acclimated  to  the 
soils  of  Tennessee,  and  especial  attention  will  be  given  to 
the  proper  application  of  the  grasses  as  adapted  to  the 
differing  soils  of  the  State.  For  our  botanic  descriptions 
we  will,  for  sufficient  reasons,  follow  those  laid  down  by 
Dr.  Gray  in  his  standard  work  on  botany. 

But  it  is  not  our  intention  to  describe  them  under  the 
scientific  arrangement  adopted  by  all  writers  on  the  subject 
into  orders,  genera  and  species,  for  this  book  is  not  intended 
as  a  purely  scientific  work,  but  rather  as  a  practical  hand- 
book for  farmers.  Hence,  although  the  botanical  names 
will  in  each  species  be  given,  they  will  be  treated  under  a 
practical  head.  Therefore,  all  grasses  will  be  classified  as : 

1st.  Meadow,  or  hay  grasses. 

2nd.  Pasture,  or  grazing  grasses. 

3rcL    Wild,  or  grasses  of  no  known  agricultural  value. 

4th.   Cereals. 

The  term  wild  is  not  to  be  taken  in  a  literal  sense,  for 
many  of  them  will  grow  on  spots  too  rocky,  sandy  or  barren 
to  produce  other  kinds,  and  they  serve  a  useful  purpose  in 
many  ways.  Sheep  and  goats  will  eat  many  of  the  wild 
grasses  rejected  by  horses  or  cattle,  and  all  furnish  seeds  to 
feed  the  feathered  denizens  of  the  air ;  besides,  they  assist  in 
pulverizing  the  soil,  disintegrating  rocks,  promoting  mois- 
ture, beautifying  the  earth  with  a  carpet  of  living  green 
and  in  their  death  leave  a  rich  legacy  of  fertility  to  the 
soil. 

There  is  an  innate  love  of  the  beautiful  in  man,  and 
many  who  turn  in  disgust  from  the  most  fragrant  exotics 
will  contemplate  with  great  satisfaction  the  little  spot  of 
verdure  at  their  door-stoop. 

These  grasses  perform  important  functions  in  nature ; 
extracting  saline  matters  from  the  rocks,  nitrogen  and  car- 
bon from  the  soil,  ammonia,  oxygen  and  hydrogen  from  the 


OF   TENNESSEE.  13 

moisture,  and  by  their  vital  forces,  they  assimilate  these 
elements  into  the  necessary  nutriment  for  man's  use. 

As  has  been  already  stated,  one-sixth  of  the  vegetation 
of  the  world  is  composed  of  grasses.  There  are  not  less 
than  3,000  distinct  species  known  to  botanists,  and  in  the 
following  pages  we  have  a  list  of  130  for  Tennessee,  in- 
cluding the  cereals.  A  botanist  of  eminence  took  up  a 
square  foot  of  sward  in  a  rich  pasture,  and  was  able  to  iden- 
tify on  that  one  square  foot,  1,000  plants,  composed  of  20 
distinct  species. 

Nor  are  grasses  confined  to  any  particular  part  of 
the  earth.  They  thrust  their  tiny  leaves  out  of  the 
snows  of  the  arctic  regions,  and  rear  their  majestic  heads, 
in  the  form  of  canes,  in  the  jungles  of  the  tropics,  rivalling 
in  height  the  forests  around.  They  push  their  green  tufts 
from  the  crevices  of  the  tallest  Alps,  tempting  the  chamois 
to  marvellous  leaps,  and  on  the  sandy,  arid  deserts  of  Ara- 
bia they  quicken  the  pace  of  the  camel  of  the  caravan.  No 
marsh  so  brackish  but  has  its  fringe  of  luxuriant  grass,  no 
spot  so  bleak  but  has  its  cloak  of  verdure.  Nor  are  they 
confined  entirely  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  fpr  who  has 
not  admired  the  beautiful  winter  bouquets  filling  the  vase 
with  feathery  loveliness,  or  the  tussocks  of  the  gardener 
adorning  the  pit  or  the  green-house  ? 

To  one  acquainted  with  the  subject,  the  facility  with 
which  grass  scatters  and  diffuses  itself  is  very  surpris- 
ing. But  it  seems  that  so  important  a  vegetation  should 
not  be  subject  to  the  fancies  or  caprices  of  man.  Therefore, 
the  seeds  are  prepared  in  such  a  way,  that  they  are  self- 
sowers.  It  is  this  remarkable  facility  of  transportation  that 
has  given  rise  to  the  surmise  of  many,  that  it  grows  by 
spontaneous  generation.  Some  of  the  seeds  have  hooks,  and 
by  these  they  fasten  to  any  passing  animal  and  are  carried  for 
miles.  Others  lie  undigested  in  the  crops  of  birds,  or  maws 
of  animals,  and  are  scattered  with  the  dejectse.  Snows 
gather  them  on  the  hill-sides  and  bear  them  far  away  on  the 


14  THE   GRASSES 

melting  torrents,  and  scatter  them,  mayhap,  along  some  for- 
eign shore.  The  air  also  assists  in  this,  and  lifts  them  on  its 
wings  and  they  fly  in  all  directions.  When  grass  once  stands, 
even  if  a  passing  beast  cuts  off  its  annual  supply  of  seed, 
its  rhizomes  or  creeping  roots  thrust  their  tender  spongioles 
through  the  yielding  soil,  and  thus,  many  a  field  is  clothed 
with  verdure.  And  besides,  many  of  the  grasses  are  peren- 
nials, and  though  torn  and  tramped  by  stock,  they  gather 
new  strength  for  another  year,  and  push  on  their  foothold. 

There  is  a  large  class  of  so-called  grasses,  purposely 
omitted,  from  the  fact  they  are  but  little  known  and  of  no 
agricultural  value,  with  only  one  or  two  exceptions.  These 
are*the  rushes  and  sedges.  There  are  about  500  varieties 
of  those  plants  growing  in  the  United  States,  principally  on 
the  borders  of  salt  marshes  on  the  coast,  but  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  broom-sedge  Carex  scoparia,  the  species  are 
almost  unknown  in  Tennessee. 

However,  on  the  sea-coast,  these  plants  form  an  important 
part  in  feeding  the  stock  ;  their  stems  when  young  and  ten- 
der, are  eaten  by  cattle,  when  nothing  better  presents  itself. 
The  rushes  enter  also,  considerably  into  manufactures,  the 
reeds  being  used  for  many  purposes,  such  as  chair  bottoms, 
baskets  and  hats.  Some  farmers  also  annually  cut  these 
marsh  grasses,  and  feed  to  stock  during  the  long,  severe 
winter.  It  is  commonly  known  as  swale  hay. 

Many  of  the  large,  coarse  grasses  that  border  our  ponds 
and  mat  in  our  swamps,  and  are  looked  upon  as  sour  grasses, 
belong  to  these  species.  They  serve  their  purpose  in  elimi- 
nating the  miasmatic  gases  that  are  continually  being  gen- 
erated in  the  ponds,  from  the  atmosphere,  thus  protecting 
man  from  their  deleterious  influences.  Besides,  they  fringe 
with  their  green,  wavy  heads,  these  collections  of  water, 
giving  a  beauty  to  the  otherwise  repulsive  swamps. 

Their  roots  are  perennial,  and  with  but  few  exceptions, 
creeping.  Hence  the  folly  of  assaying  their  destruction  by 
digging  them  up.  A  tuft  of  broom-sedge  may  be  easily 


OF  TENNESSEE.  15 

dug  up,  but  its  rhizomes,  or  creeping  roots,  are  in  the  ground 
for  yards  around,  and  a  piece  left  an  inch  long,  is  sufficient 
to  give  it  another  start.  The  only  way  to  destroy  it  is 
by  cultivation  and  seeding  to  a  more  vigorous  grass.  Japan 
clover  is  said  to  have  the  quality  of  rooting  out  and  destroy- 
ing broom-sedge  effectually,  but  has  not  received  sufficient 
trial  to  give  it  full  credence. 

There  is  a  simple  method  of  separating  the  grasses  from 
these  rushes  and  sedges,  which  will  be  briefly  stated. 

The  sheath  of  sedges  is  a  hollow  tube,  through  which  the 
stems  pass,  and  it  cannot  be  removed  without  tearing  it 
open.  This  is  not  the  case  with  grass,  as  the  sheath  can  be 
stripped  down,  it  being  open  to  the  joint.  Besides,  the 
leaves  of  all  grasses  are  two-ranked,  that  is,  the  stem  has 
leaves  on  each  side,  some  opposite,  others  alternate,  but 
always  only  on  two  sides.  The  leaves  of  sedges  are  three- 
ranked,  or  come  out  on  three  sides  of  the  circle  of  a  stem. 
In  other  words,  the  stem  forms  a  circle  of  360  degrees.  The 
grass  leaves  are  180  degrees  from  each  other,  and  the  sedge 
leaves  are  120  degrees  apart. 

In  the  grass-like  rush  the  flowers  are  divided  into  six 
points,  within  which  are  six  stamens  and  a  triangular  ovary 
containing  three  seeds.  A  grass  has  never  but  one  seed  to 
the  ovary. 

The  object  of  this  work  is  not  merely  to  talk  of  the  many 
varieties  of  grasses  and  their  wonderful  beauty,  but  to  add  to 
the  intrinsic  value  of  the  farming  lands  of  the  State.  The 
ignorance  of  the  difference  between  the  many  species  of 
grasses  is  vast  and  general.  It  pervades  all  classes  and  oc- 
cupations. The  farmer,  himself,  who  depends  so  greatly  on 
this  provision  of  nature,  is  not  exempt  from  this  want  of 
knowledge.  Ask  him  the  name  of  a  grass  of  unusual  char- 
acter, and  he  will  refer  you,  probably,  to  a  son  or  daughter 
who,  he  will  tell  you,  has  been  studying  botany.  As  for 
him,  he  has  no  time  to  fool  with  such  stuff.  And  yet  this 
want  of  knowledge  has  given  a  firm  foothold  to  some  of  the 


16  THE   GRASSES 

greatest  pests  the  farmer  ever  experienced.  A  gentleman 
in  New  Orleans,  importing  some  exotics  from  Cuba,  found 
a  delicate  sprig  of  grass  in  a  pot,  aod  thinking  it  might 
possibly  be  some  rare  plant,  set  it  out  in  his  garden,  and 
thus  was  introduced  the  terrible  scourge  of  the  South,  the 
Cocoa  grass,  and  from  this  small  start,  it  has  spread  and 
diffused  itself  over  half  the  country.  The  same  want  of 
knowledge  brought  from  Europe  the  seeds  of  the  cheat,  and 
it  will  ever  remain  as  a  curse  to  the  wheat  grower.  Our 
lands  are  everywhere  covered  with  grasses  of  various  kinds, 
but  few  are  the  farmers  who  can  tell  the  kinds  most  sought 
by  stock  in  grazing.  But  a  careful  perusal  of  the  following 
pages  will  disclose  the  fact,  that,  of  the  many  varieties  in- 
digenous to  the  State,  but  few  have  a  sufficiently  nutrient 
character  to  make  them  valuable  or  desirable. 

Farmers  should  be  able  to  make  important  discrimina- 
tions, and  when  they  find  a  fertile  soil  covered  with  noxious 
weeds  or  useless  grasses,  they  ought  to  be  able  to  eradicate 
them,  and  substitute  such  as  will  improve  the  value  of  the 
land  and  also  add  to  its  beauty. 

A  case  has  been  brought  to  my  notice,  in  which  the  value 
of  such  knowledge  proved  quite  profitable.  A  gentleman 
of  Davidson  county,  some  25  or  30  years  ago,  owned  a  large 
and  fertile  tract  of  land.  He  became  impressed  with  the 
value  of  blue-grass,  and  bought  at  one  time  fifty  bushels  of 
blue-grass  seed,  and  scattered  it  over  a  woods  lot  containing 
75  or  80  acres  of  rich,  black  limestone  land.  That  woods 
lot  became  the  pride  not  only  of  the  farm,  but  of  the  neigh- 
borhood. It  proved  a  blessing,  for  many  years,  to  his  horses, 
catfle  and  sheep,  and  when,  by  the  exigencies  of  the  hard 
times,  he  was  compelled  to  sell  his  land,  it  was  divided  into 
small  tracts  and  put  up  to  the  highest  bidder.  That  blue- 
grass  lot  was  sought  by  all  the  bidders,  and  at  last  was 
knocked  down  at  more  than  double  the  price  per  acre  of  any 
of  the  other  lots,  though  it  was,  aside  from  the  grass,  of  no 
more  value  than  the  remainder. 


OF   TENNESSEE.  17 

Thus,  if  we  wish  to  make  our  farms  not  only  a  beauty 
and  a  pleasure,  but  also  to  make  them  profitable,  we  ought 
to  sow  them  down  with  good  grasses.  Look  over  the  list, 
examine  the  land  desired  to  be  sown,  and  select  the  one  most 
suitable  to  its  requirements.  There  is  no  fear  but  what  one 
can  be  found.  If  it  is  such  as  will  not  grow  blue-grass, 
there  is  the  fescue,  or  vernal,  or  clover,  or  timothy,  or  herds 
grass,  and  many  others  equally  good.  We  have  them  jfcr 
limestone  or  sandstone  soils,  for  rocky  or  gravelly,  for  up- 
lands or  lowlands.  Let  no  one  be  afraid  to  try,  if  one  kind 
fails,  through  any  mistake,  try  another.  If  the  frosts  or 
sunshine  destroy  the  first  stand,  sow  for  another.  The  seeds 
are,  or  should  be,  but  a  small  obstacle  to  the  general  results. 
If  one  should  ever  want  to  sell,  it  will  be  less  difficult  to 
make  the  sale,  and  at  a  higher  figure.  Should  a  farmer 
never  wish  to  sell,  it  will  repay  him  an  hundred  fold  with 
its  cheering  aspect,  with  fat  cattle,  fat  sheep  and  sleek 
horses. 


18  THE   GRASSES 


CHAPTER  II. 

ENGLISH  PRODUCTIONS  COMPARED  WITH  THOSE  OF  TEN- 
NESSEE— COMPARATIVE  VALUE  OF  OTHER  CROPS  WITH 
GRASS — CAUSE  OF  LOW  PRICE  OF  LANDS. 

Cotton  has  been  for  so  many  generations  recognized  as 
the  king  of  all  agricultural  products,  that  the  people  of 
Tennessee  were  long  disposed  to  accept  his  prerogative 
without  questioning,  but  when  the  subject  is  fully  investi- 
gated, grass  takes  precedence.  The  cotton  crop  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  as  a  general  thing  reaches  about  4,000,000  bags, 
worth  about  on  an  average  $250,000,000,  while  the  aggre- 
gate of  the  hay  receipts  annually  reach  the  enormous  sum 
of  $300,000,000,  and  the  value  of  pasture  will  fully  equal 
this  amount,  though  its  results  are  not  so  immediately 
apparent,  as  its  sales  are  combined  with  those  of  cattle, 
sheep  and  hogs.  Before  the  war,  the  lands  of  Tennessee 
had  a  certain  fixed  or  rising  value.  A  great  depreciation 
of  prices  has  taken  place.  But  this  falling  in  price  does 
not  apply  to  those  well  arranged  stock  farms,  scattered  here 
and  there,  at  long  intervals  through  the  State.  They  are 
still  in  demand  at  prices  far  in  advance  of  those  lands  that 
have  been,  and  are  still  being  devoted  to  cotton  and  other 
exhaustive  crops. 

The  English  farmer  is  able  to  take  long  leases  of  farms 
from  the  rich  landholder,  at  from  $20  to  $50  per  an- 
nual rent.  How  does  he  pay  this  extravagant  rent  and 
support  his  family  ?  He  could  not  do  it  in  any  other 
manner  than  by  improving,  manuring  and  increasing  the 
meadows  with  which  they  are  constantly  set.  A  Tennesseean 
will  manure  his  garden,  and  sometimes  his  corn  land,  but 
whoever  thinks  of  spreading  manure  on  his  meadows.  Yet 
the  Englishman  will  spend  large  sums  of  money,  and  de- 


OP   TENNESSEE.  19 

vote  labor  through  the  whole  winter,  in  accumulating  a 
large  compost  heap  to  apply  to  his  meadows  !  The  result 
may  be  imagined.  While  the  Tennessee  meadows  will 
average  from  800  to  1,500  pounds  of  hay  to  the  acre,  Eng- 
lish meadows  will  make  from  two  to  five  tons  on  land  that 
has  no  other  advantage  than  the  care  bestowed  on  it  by  the 
owner. 

Besides  this,  the  grass  grown  in  a  damp  cold  climate  is 
never  so  sweet  and  nutritious  as  that  raised  under  a  warm 
sun  and  with  a  quick  growth.  In  this  State  there  is  an 
occasional  drought  that  begins  in  June  or  July,  interfering 
seriously  with  the  development  of  the  later  crops.  But 
such  a  condition  of  climate  is  scarcely  known  in  the  earlier 
months  during  the  growth  of  the  grass  crops.  Yet  there  is 
with  the  spring  rains  a  degree  of  temperature  unknown  to 
the  Englishman,  a  degree  sufficiently  high  to  give  grass  all 
the  necessary  heat  to  enable  it  to  attain  its  full  supply  of 
sugar  and  nitrogen  from  the  soil. 

The  beautiful  lands  of  Kentucky  and  Missouri,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  Northern  States,  still  retain  a  great  value, 
and  are  in  great  demand  at  high  prices.  It  is  because 
these  States  have  more  land  in  meadows,  while  broad 
stretches  of  valuable  pastures  and  prairies  dot  the  landscape 
in  every  direction.  Poor  land  will  not  make  much  grass, 
and  without  a  great  outlay  of  capital  land  cannot  be  placed 
in  first-class  order  at  once.  But  it  only  requires  a  start, 
and  then  the  persevering,  provident  farmer  will  soon  see 
his  farm  blossoming  as  the  rose.  Land  in  Europe  not  in- 
frequently reaches  the  sum  of  $1,000  per  acre  for  purely 
agricultural  purposes,  while  here  it  is  a  difficult  matter 
to  extract,  with  our  best  farming,  $50  per  acre,  and  then 
the  expenses  are  to  be  drawn  from  that  meager  sum. 

Let  us  draw  a  comparison  between  our  leading  staples. 
Cotton  here  will  make  on  average  land  800  pounds  seed  cotton 
per  acre.  This  at  the  usual  price  makes  $20  per  acre.  Corn 
will  produce  on  good  land  eight  barrels  per  acre,  and  at 


20  THE  GRASSES 

$2.00,  the  laborer  will  get  $16.  Tobacco,  our  most  remu- 
nerative crop,  on  good  land  will  make  800  pounds  of  leaf, 
which  is  about  $50  to  $60  per  acre.  Wheat  will  make,  on 
good  land,  fifteen  bushels  per  acre,  and  at  $1  will  yield 
about  $15.  Taking  the  cost  of  production  from  these 
amounts,  the  average  farmer  will  not  have  left,  at  the  best, 
more  than  twelve  dollars  per  acre.  A  good  meadow,  in  full 
bearing,  with  ordinary  care,  will  yield,  with  two  cuttings, 
at  least  two  tons  per  acre.  The  cost  is  altogether  in  har- 
vesting, while  the  trouble  of  sending  to  market  is  no  greater 
than  either  of  the  other  crops.  This,  at  the  price  for  which 
it  has  been  selling  for  several  years,  will  be  $20  per  ton. 
Here,  then,  is  a  difference  in  actual  receipts  of  almost 
double  that  obtained  from  other  crops,  nothing  paid  out  for 
production,  and  besides  the  land  can  be  enriched  year  by 
year,  until  it  attains  an  almost  fabulous  fertility.  Nor  is 
this  all.  The  amount  of  hay  produced  from  a  single  acre 
can  be  increased  almost  to  any  extent  by  the  applica- 
tion of  stimulating  manures.  If  then,  land  in  Europe  can 
produce  five  tons  of  hay  per  acre,  and  sell  for  $1,000  per 
acre,  why  cannot  Tennessee  lands,  far  better  naturally,  and 
in  a  more  genial  climate,  be  made  to  rival  these  results  ? 
One  thing  only  prevents,  and  that  is  the  fatal  apathy  and 
want  of  enterprise  on  the  part  of  the  land  owners.  It  is 
the  thirst  for  immediate  returns.  To  create  this  state  of  tillage, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  proceed  slowly,  and  look  for  no  re- 
turns of  consequence  for  one  or  two  years.  Pressing  neces- 
sities weigh  upon  the  farmer,  and  he  thoughtlessly  drives 
on  in  the  same  interminable  furrow,  regardless  of  the  loss 
of  time  and  fertility.  The  Northern  husbandman  bales  his 
hay,  and  is  able  to  ship  it  to  all  parts  of  the  South  in  search 
of  a  market,  and  after  paying  heavy  railroad  charges,  is 
still  able  to  sell  his  producee  at  a  remunerative  price.  The 
Southern  man  has  no  freight  charges  to  tax  his  hay,  and 
yet  he  is  content  to  let  his  Northern  rival  enjoy,  without 
competition,  this  great  market.  When  will  our  eyes  be 


OF   TENNESSEE.  21 

opened  to  our  interests,  is  a  question  often  asked,  but  diffi- 
cult to  answer. 

A  capitalist  invests  his  money  in  United  States  bonds, 
and  without  risk  or  labor  contentedly  cuts  off  his  coupons 
and  enjoys  his  ease,  while  the  merchant,  with  the  same  cap- 
ital, is  harrassed  to  death  meeting  bills,  collecting  accounts, 
and  watching  with  unceasing  vigilance  the  turn  of  the 
markets.  So  it  is  with  farmers.  A  prudent  farmer  will 
invest  his  farm-capital  in  grass,  and  he  contentedly  watches 
the  growth  of  the  grass  and  the  browsing  of  his  cattle, 
while  his  neighbor  raising  corn  and  cotton,  is  busy  all  the 
year  in  cultivating  his  crops,  watching  his  laborers,  buying 
mules,  bacon  and  hay  from  his  more  prudent  friend,  and 
when  he  counts  his  receipts  at  the  end  of  the  struggle,  he 
will  find  his  neighbor  has  absorbed  the  greater  part  of 
them.  Not  only  this,  but  a  stranger  appears  in  the  coun- 
try desirous  of  investing  in  land,  and  while  he  would  turn 
from  the  cotton  plantation  at  ten  or  twelve  dollars  per  acre, 
he  would  gladly  invest  in  the  grass  farm  at  forty  or  fifty 
dollars  per  acre. 

Land  that  will  yield  ten  or  fifteen  dollars  per  acre  clear 
of  the  expense  of  cultivation,  cannot  be  supposed,  and  is 
not  entitled,  to  the  same  value  with  land  that  will  produce 
thirty  to  forty  dollars  on  the  same  breadth.  And  yet  the 
farmers  of  Tennessee  hesitate  to  pursue  this  course.  Dr. 
Gulliver,  in  the  midst  of  his  extravaganzas,  uttered  a 
truism  that  will  go  down  to  all  ages  when  he  said  "  the 
man  who  makes  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one  grew 
before,  is  a  great  public  benefactor; "  and  when  the  citizens 
of  Tennessee  look  at  their  own  interest  in  a  proper  light, 
they  will  realize  this  truth,  and  then  by  acting  on  it,  double 
or  even  quadruple  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  lands  of  the 
State. 

Grasses  mean  less  labor,  less  worry,  fewer  hands,  more 
enjoyment,  finer  stock  and  more  charming  homes,  and  as  a 
consequence,  happier  families,  more  education,  more  taste 


22  THE     GKAESES 

and  refinement,  and  a  higher  elevation  of  the  moral  char- 
acter. Let  grasses  be  sown  and  our  homes  beautified  and 
there  will  be  more  contentment,  more  satisfaction,  less 
gloom  and  despondency,  less  carping  and  discontent. 

It  is  almost  impossible  for  us  to  realize  the  splendid  fu- 
ture that  would  await  us  in  such  an  event.  We  are  groan- 
ing under  the  burdens  of  a  heavy  debt  incurred  by  our 
State  in  a  more  prosperous  time.  Now  it  is  with  diffi- 
culty the  interest  can  be  paid,  and  our  creditors  are  alarmed 
at  the  possible  loss  of  the  debt  Should  more  mea- 
dows and  pastures  be  established,  and  the  lands  prove 
themselves  to  be,  as  we  know  they  are,  a  tide  of  im- 
migration, of  a  character  to  be  desired,  would  pour  into  our 
borders,  the  lands  would  be  quickly  cut  up  into  smaller 
farms,  and  the  returns  would  so  increase  their  value,  we 
could  pay  the  whole  debt  as  easily  as  we  can  now  meet 
the  interest. 

But,  some  will  say,  how  can  this  be  done  ?  On  the  gen- 
eral principle  that  what  has  been  done  by  one  man  can, 
under  the  same  or  similar  circumstances,  be  done  by  all. 
The  amount  of  nay,  on  a  given  amount  of  land,  can  be 
raised  from  800  pounds  to  the  acre,  to  five  tons  or  10,000 
pounds,  simply  because  it  has  been  done. 

Were  we  confined  to  any  one  species  of  grass,  with  the 
great  diversity  in  the  character  of  our  soils,  we  might  well 
exclaim  against  the  chances  of  success,  but  fortunately  such 
is  not  the  case.  There  are  a  great  many  to  select  from,  and 
he  who  has  a  farm  with  several  kinds  of  soil,  can  make 
such  selections  as  suit  the  different  requirements,  or  he  can 
mix  the  seeds  of  various  kinds,  if  he  labors  under  any  un- 
certainty in  regard  to  its  capability. 

The  cultivation  of  the  grasses  in  Tennessee  is  yet  in  its 
infancy.  It  is  true  some  have  been  engaged  in  it  for  years 
with  eminent  success,  but  to  the  masses  it  is  a  sealed  book. 
Many  have  attempted  it,  and  from  a  want  of  knowledge  of 
judiciously  selecting  seeds  and  the  proper  time  and  manner 


OF   TENNESSEE.  23 

of  sowing,  have  failed,  and,  discouraged,  abandoned  it. 
Many,  and  a  majority,  are  content  to  secure  such  precarious 
spots  as  are  self-sown,  or  where  seeds  have  been  distributed 
by  nature,  and  still  exhaust  their  lands  by  cultivation. 

C.  W.  Howard,  of  Georgia,  who  devoted  years  to  the 
investigation  of  the  influence  of  the  grasses  upon  civiliza- 
tion and  material  progress  thus  presents  the  subject  in  a 
strong  light : 

A  planter  owning  one  thousand  acres  of  fair  average  land  in  the 
healthy  portion  of  the  cotton  States  is  a  poor  man.  He  could  not  sell 
his  land  probably  for  more  than  $5,  QOO.  He  looks  to  the  North,  and 
finds  lands  ranging  from  $50  to  $200  per  acre.  He  looks  to  England, 
Holland  and  Belgium,  and  finds  the  price  averaging  from  $300  to  $500 
per  acre.  Why  this  difference  ?  Is  the  land  in  these  countries  better 
than  ours?  Not  by  nature — if  it  be  better  it  is  by  the  difference  of 
treatment.  Is  their  climate  better  than  ours?  The  acknowledged 
superiority  is  on  our  side.  Are  the  prices  of  their  products  any  better 
than  ours  ?  On  an  average  not  so  good.  Are  the  taxes  lighter  than 
ours  ?  If  we  were  compelled  to  pay  their  tax  either  at  the  North  or  in 
England  our  lands  would  at  once  be  sold  for  taxes.  Have  they  val- 
uable crops  which  tbey  can  raise  and  we  cannot  raise?  There  is  not  a 
farm  product  in  either  Old  England  or  New  England  which  we  cannot 
raise  in  equal  perfection  at  the  South.  Is  the  labor  cheaper  than  ours  ? 
The  cost  of  labor  at  the  North  nearly  doubles  the  cost  of  labor  South. 
In  England  labor  is  cheaper  than  with  us.  But  the  difference  is  per- 
haps compensated  by  the  poor  and  church  rates  and  excessive  taxes 
paid  by  the  English  farmers. 

If  our  climate  is  as  good  as  that  of  the  countries  referred  to,  if  our 
lands  are  as  good  as  theirs,  if  our  products  bring  as  good  prices,  if  we 
can  grow  all  they  can  grow,  if  labor  is  cheaper  with  us  than  at  the 
North,  and  if  difference  in  taxes  compensate  for  the  cheapness  of  labor 
in  England,  why  is  it  that  their  lands  are  so  valuable  and  ours  so  value- 
less? 

We  shall  find  the  map  of  use  to  us  in  answering  this  question.  If 
we  take  the  map  of  the  United  States,  and  put  our  finger  upon  the 
States  or  parts  of  States  in  which  lands  sell  at  the  highest  price,  we 
shall  find  that  in  those  States,  or  parts  of  those  States,  the  greatest 
attention  is  paid  to  the  cultivation  of  the  grasses  and  forage  plants  If 
we  open  the  map  of  Europe  we  shall  find  that  the  same  rule  holds 
good.  The  cheapest  lands  in  Europe  are  those  of  Spain,  where  little 
attention  is  paid  to  the  grasses. 

The  value  of  land  rises  exactly  in  proportion  to  the  attention  which 


24  THE   GRASSES 

is  given  to  them,  in  England  and  Holland,  reaching,  for  farming  pur- 
poses, $1,000  per  acre.  Holland  is  almost  a  continuous  meadow. 
This  land  value  culminates  in  Lombardy,  where  irrigated  meadow 
lands  rent  for  $60  to  $100  per  acre.  Without  exception,  in  Europe 
and  America,  where  a  large  portion  of  land  is  in  grass  or  forage 
crops,  the  price  of  the  land  is  high,  reaching  the  figure  as  above  men- 
tioned. On  the  other  hand,  without  exception,  wherever  in  either  con- 
tinent the  grasses  do  not  receive  this  attention,  landed  estate  is  compar- 
ative of  low  value. 

These  remarks  are  more  applicable  to  Tennessee  than  to 
Georgia,  for  the  latter  State  is  strictly  within  the  cotton 
belt,  while  Tennessee  belongs  strictly  to  the  great  grain 
and  grass-growing  region  of  America.  Her  natural  destiny 
is  to  feed  the  population  of  the  Cotton  States,  and  supply 
them  with  domestic  animals,  and  she  will  never  realize  the 
full  wealth  of  her  real  estate  and  climate  until  grass  and 
stock  take  the  place  of  cotton  and  corn. 


OF  TENNESSEE.  25 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  AND  BY  WHOM  GRASSES  HAVE  BEEN  IMPROVED — 
WOBURN  EXPERIMENTS — EXPERIMENTS  OF  LEWIS  AND 
GILBERT — WAY'S  EXPERIMENTS — ANALYSIS  OF  GRASSES 
— TABLES  BY  WOLF  AND  OTHERS. 

Although,  since  the  time  of  the  oldest  records,  a  large 
proportion  of  mankind  have  been  "  keepers  of  flocks  and 
herds."  it  is  only  within  the  last  century  that  any  systematic 
and  successful  efforts  are  known  to  have  been  made  toward 
selecting  and  improving  the  grasses  of  the  meadow  and 
pasture.  And  even  to  this  day  the  value  of  a  large  major- 
ity of  the  grasses  known  remains  to  be  tested  by  any  ex- 
haustive and  trustworthy  experiments.  The  knowledge 
y/hich  botanists  have  of  the  grasses  would  be  of  but  little 
value  to  the  farmers  if  they  possessed  it,  since  it  is  confined 
almost  entirely  to  the  mode  of  blooming,  shape  and  flower 
and  leaf,  and  other  minor  details,  quite  important  and 
essential  to  classification,  but  almost  useless  for  any  prac- 
tical purpose  on  the  farm.  What  the  farmer  needs  t© 
know  about  a  grass  is  its  nutritive  value/its  time  of  bloom- 
ing, its  habit  of  growth,  and  favorite  locality.  He  is  inter- 
ested in  knowing  how  much  food  it  will  furnish,  at  what 
time  of  the  year,  in  what  form,  and  from  what  character  of 
soil.  These  are  questions  with  which  botanists  have  not, 
heretofore,  concerned  themselves,  but  which  must  be  an- 
swered, now  that  farmers'  sons  are  beginning  to  learn  bot- 
any and  chemistry. 

The  first  impulse  was  given  to  grass  cultivation  in  Eng- 
land by  the  London  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts, 
Manufacturers  and  Commerce,  which,  in  1766,  offered  prizes 
for  "gathering  by  hand  the  seeds  of  Meadow  Foxtail, 
Meadow  Fescue  and  Sweet  Vernal  Grass."  The  success  of 


ZO  THE   GRASSES 

this  offer  was  feuch  as  to  induce  the  same  society  to  offer,  in 
1769,  a  gold  medal  to  the  person  who  should  give  the  best 
account  of  the  properties,  and  comparative  values  of  any 
two  or  more  natural  grasses.     Previous  to  this  sufficient 
attention  had  been  given  to  the  grasses   to  establish   the 
terms  natural    and    artificial  grasses — the  latter  being  ap- 
plied to  the  plants  selected  fer  cultivation  in  meadows  and 
pastures,  but  which  are  not  really  grasses.     As  yet,  however^ 
no  systematic  efforts  had  been  made  to  test,  by  experiment 
or  analysis,  the  relative  values  of  the  several  grasses.     In 
1822  this  attempt  was  made  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  wh'-i 
set  his  gardener,  George  Sinclair,  to  work  to  collect  all  the 
natural  grasses  of  England  into  a  grass  garden,  the  first  of 
the  kind  ever  attempted  in  England.     In  this  garden,  and 
another,  subsequently  established  for  himself  by  Sinclair, 
a  long  series  of  experiments  were  tried  with  the  various 
grasses,   testing    with    admirable   patience   and   skill  their 
properties  and  qualities.     While  it  is  true  that  the  chemical, 
tests  applied  by  Sinclair  were  too  meager  and  simple  to 
command  our  implicit  confidence,  more  valuable  lessons  con- 
cerning the  grasses  have  never  been  taught  than  are  con- 
tained in  Sinclair's  accounts  of  the  "  Woburn  Experiments/' 
in  his  book  called  "  Graminea  Woburnensis."     Many    of 
these   lessons  have   come  to   be   accepted  as   fundamental 
truths.     He  first  taught,  that  from  early  spring  to  late  in 
winter  there  is  no  time  when  there  is  not  one  or  more  of 
the  grasses  in  prime  condition,  some  containing  most  nutri- 
ment before  flowering,  some  while  in  flower,  others  while  in 
seed,    and    others    still,  owing    their  chief   excellence    to 
their  aftermath.     He  taught  also  what  grasses  flourished 
best  in  dry  weather,  and  what  in  wet.     In  short  he  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  scientific  study  of  the  grasses,  and  all 
subsequent  investigations  have  but  enlarged  upon  his  work. 
In  1845,  Prof.  Way,  Consulting  Chemist  of  the  Royal 
Agricultural  Society  of  England,  undertook  the  analysis  of 
the  principal  grasses  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  their  rela- 


OF   TENNESSEE.  27 

tive  values  as  flesh,  fat  and  heat  producers.  These  analyses 
were  conducted  with  that  consumate  skill  and  patience 
which  characterized  all  of  Prof.  Way's  work,  and  their  re- 
sult stands  to-day  as  the  best  authority  of  the  laboratory  on 
the  values  of  the  different  grasses. 

Between  the  writings  of  Sinclair  and  Way  a  revolution 
had  taken  place  in  chemistry.  Organic  or  physiological 
chemistry  had  developed  relations  between  the  mineral, 
vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms,  not  even  suspected  in  the 
time  of  the  earlier  writer,  and,  far  from  being  fully  under- 
stood even  at  the  present  time.  It  was  this  chemical  pro- 
gress that  induced  Prof.  Way  to  undertake  his  work.  He 
was  fully  aware,  and  was  careful  to  state,  that  his  analyses 
were  only  so  many  facts,  to  be  taken  along  with  many 
other  known  and  unknown  facts  in  physiology,  before  a 
true  estimate  could  be  formed  and  a  final  conclusion  ar- 
rived at. 

Next  in  order  came  the  experiments  of  Messrs.  Lawes 
and  Gilbert,  of  Rothamsted,  England,  which  were  designed 
to  ascertain  "The  Effects  of  different  Manures  on  the  Mixed 
Herbage  of  Grass-land."  The  experiments  extended  over 
a  period  of  seven  years,  and  were  conducted  with  every 
conceivable  caution  and  care,  and  with  a  minuteness  un- 
equaled  in  any  other  experiments.  The  results  of  these 
experiments,  while  they  modify  in  many  points,  and  in 
some  overturn,  the  conclusions  of  both  Sinclair  and  Way, 
on  the  whole  add  value  to  their  works  by  furnishing  a  bet- 
ter interpretation  of  their  facts.  To  the  farmer  the  experi- 
ments of  Lawes  and  Gilbert  are  invaluable. 

In  England,  in  the  meanwhile,  quite  a  number  of  books 
and  pamphlets  had  been  printed  on  the  grasses  by  botanists, 
agriculturists  and  seedsmen,  all  of  more  or  less  value,  but 
none  of  material  importance  to  the  American  farmer. 

In  America,  too,  books  have  been  written  on  grasses, 
one  entitled  "  GRASSES  AND  FORAGE  PLANTS" — "  A  prac- 
tical treatise,  comprising  their  natural  history ;  comparative 


28  THE   GRA-SEfc 

nutritive  value ;  methods  of  cultivating,  cutting  and  curing, 
and  the  management  of  grass  lands  in  the  United  States 
and  British  Provinces/'  by  Charles  L.  Flint,  Secretary  of 
the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Agriculture.  The  other 
entitled  "  The  Grasses  and  their  Culture,"  by  John  Stanton 
Gould,  of  the  New  York  State  Board  of  Agriculture.  Mr. 
Flint's  book  was  published  in  1859,  and  at  once  took  rank 
as  a  hand-book  of  the  subject.  It  was  based  upon  the  pre- 
ceding works  of  Sinclair  and  Way  and  is  the  best  applica- 
cation  of  their  several  experiments  made  up  to  the  year 
1859.  The  wort  is  profusely  illustrated,  and  will  be  found 
exceedingly  useful  by  every  intelligent  farmer.  The  essay 
of  Mr.  Gould  was  prepared  for  the  transactions  of  the  New 
York  Agricultural  Society,  and  has  not  been  published  in  a 
separate  book,  that  we  know  of.  It  is,  however,  well 
worthy  of  such  publication. 

So  far  as  to  the  literature  of  the  grasses  in  book  form. 
In  the  agricultural  journals,  and  in  the  transactions  of  the 
various  State  and  County  Agricultural  Societies,  there  have 
appeared  from  time  to  time  many  excellent  essays  upon  the 
grasses.  The  late  Dr.  Win.  Gordon  contributed  many  ex- 
cellent papers  to  various  journals  in  Middle  Tennessee  on 
the  grasses  of  that  section,  but  so  far  no  attempt  has  been 
made  to  form  a  complete  list  of  the  grasses  of  the  State. 

The  following  are  the  natural  grasses  examined  by  Prof. 
Way: 


OF   TENNESSEE. 


a  a' J 

03    03    ro    «    O    O    O^S 
O    G    g  i— i  i— >  >— >  ,Q    o 

^oggSSSf^ 

Bs^f  III.:* 


30 


THE   GRASSES 


OF   TENNESSEE. 


31 


This  table  exhibits  the  theoretical  value  of  these  grasses 
as  they  are  gathered  from  the  field,  and  may  stand  for  their 
pasture  value.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that 
pasture  grasses  are  rarely  allowed  to  come  into  bloom  be- 
fore cattle  are  turned  in  on  them,  so  that  these  estimates 
will  not  hold  absolutely  true.  Grasses  differ  widely  in  the 
amount  and  character  of  their  foliage,  which  is  an  import- 
ant element  in  any  estimate  of  their  value  for  pasturage. 
Again,  some  of  the  most  esteemed  grasses  owe  their  value 
chiefly  to  the  fact  that  they  appear  at  a  time  when  they  are 
much  needed,  that  is,  in  early  spring,  rather  than  to  their 
absolute  richness. 

We  give  below  another  table  of  the  same  grasses  dried 
at  212°  Fahrenheit: 


NAMES. 

Albumino's! 

a  ^ 

£>£ 

1 

1  £ 

bfl  <» 

S 

'•*•»  A 
e3  T, 

<u   C 

W  3 

02 

1 
f 

o 

4 

< 

Anthoxanthuni    

10.43 

3.4] 

42.48 

36  36 

6  32 

Alopecurus  pratensis.  . 

12.32 

2  92 

43  12 

33  83 

7  81 

Arrhenatherum  avenacum  
Avena  flavescens  

12.95 

7.48 

3.19 
2.61 

38.03 
47.08 

34.24 
35  95 

11.59 

6  88 

A  vena  pnbescens  
Briza  media 

7.97 
6.08 

2.39 
3.01 

49.78 
46  95 

34.64 
35  30 

5.22 
8  66 

Bromus  erectus 

9.44 

3.33 

41  71 

36  12 

5  21 

Bromns  mollis  

17.29 

2.11 

38.66 

36  12 

5  82 

Cynosuris  cristatus 

11.08 

3  54 

52  64 

26  36 

6  38 

Dactylis  glomerata 

33.53 

3.14 

44  32 

33  70 

5  31 

Dactylis,  seeds  ripe  . 

23  .  08 

1.56 

26  53 

43  32 

5  51 

Festuca  duriuscula  

12.10 

3.34 

40.43 

38  71 

5.42 

Holcus  lanatus  

11.52 

3.56 

39.25 

39.30 

6.37 

flordeum  pratense. 

11.17 

2.30 

46  68 

31  67 

6  18 

Lolium  perenne  

11.85 

3.17 

42.24 

35  20 

7  54 

Lolium  Italicum  

10.10 

3.27 

57.82 

19.76 

9.05 

Phleuin  pratense 

11  36 

3  55 

53  35 

26  45 

5  28 

Poa  annua 

11.83 

3.42 

51  70 

30  '22 

2  83 

Poa  pratensis.        

10.35 

2.63 

43.06 

38  02 

5.94 

Poa  trivialis 

9  80 

3  67 

40  17 

38  03 

8  33 

This  table  may  be  used  as  a  basis  for  estimating  the  hay 
value  of  the  several  grasses,  it  being  understood  that  hay, 
however  dry,  is  never  absolutely  free  Jfrom  water,  as  these 
specimens  were.  The  usual  amount  of  water  in  well  made 


32  THE   GRASSES 

hay  is  about  16  per  cent.  A  comparison  of  the  relative 
values  of  these  grasses  in  the  hay  and  pasture  state  cannot 
but  be  interesting,  and  may  be  instructive.  It  must  never 
be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  presence  or  absence  of  a 
large  amount  of  water  in  a  grass  is  not  always  to  be  ac- 
cepted as  conclusive  proof  of  its  value,  since  the  same  spe- 
ciee  of  grass  grown  on  an  upland  meadow,  and  under  irri- 
gation, will  differ  in  the  amount  of  water  which  it  contains 
quite  as  widely  as  any  two  species  grown  under  the  same 
conditions.  Again,  the  amount  of  water  found  in  the  same 
grass  will  vary  widely  at  different  stages  of  growth,  from 
the  first  shooting  up  of  the  leaves  to  the  ripening  of  the 
seeds.  This  fact  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  common 
old  field  broom  sedge,  which,  when  young,  is  eaten  quite 
greedily  by  some  cattle,  but  when  the  stem  begins  to  shoot, 
nothing  will  eat  it.  This  table,  therefore,  like  all  the  oth- 
ers, is  to  be  used,  not  as  a  standard  of  absolute  values,  but 
as  an  approximation  and  guide  in  forming  estimates. 

The  following  table  will  be  found  useful,  being  a  report 
to  the  Higland  Society  by  Mr.  Stirling,  of  Glenbervie : 

Column  I.  contains  the  scientific  names. 

Column  II.  contains  the  common  name. 

Column  III  contains  the  average  weight  of  the  seed  per 
bushel  in  pounds. 

Column  IV.  contains  the  average  number  of  seeds  in 
one  ounce. 

Column  V.  shows,  in  inches,  the  depth  of  cover  at  which 
the  greatest  number  of  seeds  sprouted. 

Column  VI.  shows,  in  inches,  the  depth  ol  cover  at  which 
only  about  half  the  number  of  seeds  sprouted. 

Column  VII.  shows,  in  inches,  the  least  depth  of  cover 
at  which  none  of  the  seejis  sprouted. 


OF   TENNESSEE. 


13  1-2  \33 


\3333 


5  = 


SS^W 


'-SSSSSSSSjg^SoSSSSS 


34 


THE   GE ASSES 


Composition  of  the  ash  of  agricultural  plants  and  products,  giving 
the  average  of  all  trustworthy  analyses  published  up  to  August,  1865, 
by  Prof.  Einile  Wolff,  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Agriculture,  atHohem- 
heim,  Wirtemberg: 


I— MEADOW  HAY  AND  GRASSES. 


StTBSTANCB.         ' 

No.  of 

Analyses. 

Per  ct.  of  1 
Ash. 

•2 

2 

Magnesia. 

1 

Phospho- 
ric Acid. 

Sulphuric 
Acid. 

1 

§ 

Chlorine. 

Meadow  hay  

13 
1 
1 
4 
3 
39 
6 
7 
5 
5 
2 
•3 
1 
5 
5 
2 

7.78 
9.32 
7.73 
7.10 
7.01 
7.27 
9.46 
7.23 
8.93 
7.04 
9.73 
6.99 
5.42 
7.20 
9.21 

7.23 

25.6 
56.2 
7.6 
24.9 
28.8 
33,0 
41.7 
39  0 
38.5 
26.2 
34.7 
25.7 
38.6 
29.6 
35.6 

37.4 

7.0 
1.8 
2.9 
4.2 
2.7 
1.8 
4.4 
3.3 
1.7 
0.6 
1.9 
0.5 
0.3 
1.5 
3.4 

4.9 
2.8 
3*4 
2.1 
3.7 
2.6 
3.5 
3.2 
2;9 
3.1 
1.5 
2.2 
321 
3.9 
4.7 

83 

11.6 
10.7 
12.9 
7.5 
9.4 
5.5 
7.0 
6.7 
7.0 
6.0 
4.9 
3.1 
7.4 
6.6 
8.3 

10.8 

6.2 
10.5 
4.4 
7.8 
10.8 
7.8 
8.3 
8.3 
10.1 
9.8 
7.4 
7.3 
14.7 
9.1 
8.1 

5.4 

5.1 
4.0 
9.7 
3.8 
3.9 
4.4 
3.4 
2.7 
2.9 
2.9 
2.8 
1.9 
1.6 
4.1 
4.8 

3.6 

29.6 
10.3 
63.1 
39.6 
35.6 
37.6 
27.9 
33.2 
31.2 

as 

56.8 
32.0 
41.4 
30.0 

29.1 

8.0 
2.0 
5.7 
5.4 
5.0 
4.1 
4.4 
4.0 
5.6 
3.5 
5.3 
2.8 

4".3 
5.6 

6.4 

Young  grass  

Dead  ripe  hay  

Rye  grass  in  flower  

Timothy      

Other  sweet  grasses. 

Oats  in  flower  

Barley,  heading  out 

Barley  in  flower..                     

Winter  wheat,  .heading  out  
Winter  wheat  in  flower  

Winter  rye,  heading  out  

Green  cereals,  light 

Green  cereals,  heavy  

Hungarian  millet,green,  (Panicum) 
germ)....                                 ..../ 

II— CLOVER  AND  FODDER  PLANTS. 


17  Bed  clover , 

a.  15-25  percentage  potash. 

6.  25-35        "  << 

c.  35-50        •«  "        . 

White  clover 

Lucern.... 


clover 

Anthyllis  vulneraria 

Green  Vetches 

Green  pea,  in  flower 

Green  rape,  young 


6.74 
7.19 
7,16 
7.14 


6.72|34.5 
6.01 


7.40 


29.8 
46.3 
17.5 
25.3 


5,39 

5.53  33.8 
5,60  10. 
8.74  42.1 


40.8 


8.97  32.3 


l.( 


12.2  34.0 


18.2 
11.8 

7.8 
10.0 

5.8 


15.3 
4.6 


3:).7 
35.C 
27.3 
322 
48.0 


5.8  32  2 


31.9 
68.9 
26.3 
287 
23.1 


M 

in.G 
9.2 

14.1 
8.6 

10.4 
10.1 

7.0 
12.S 
13.2 

8.7 


3.0 
3.8 
3.0 
2.2 
8.8 
6.1 
3.3 
4.0 
1.6 
3.7 
3.5 
163 


2.71 
1.3| 
2.7 
2.6 

4."> 
2.0 
4.0 
1.2 
&9 

1.8 
2.G 


3.7 
5.4 
2-9 
3.2 
3.2 
1.9 
3.0 
2.8 
0.2 
3.1 
1.8 
7.6 


OF   TENNESSEE. 


35 


Composition  of  fresh  or  air-dry  agricultural  products,  giving  the  aver- 
age quantity  of  water,  sulphur,  ash  and  ash-ingredients,  in  1,000  parts 
of  substance,  by  Prof.  Wolff  : 


SUBSTANCE. 

1 

i 

Potash. 

t 

eg" 

'i 

0 
1 

0 

Phosphoric 
Acid. 

Sulphuric 
Acid. 

1 

Chlorine, 

Sulphur 

I.-HAY. 


Meadow  Hay.... 
Dead  ripe  hay.. 

Red  clover 

White  clover..., 
Swedish  clover.. 

Lucern .., 

Esparsette 

Green  vetches. 
Green  oats.... 


66.6 
66.2 
56.5 
603 
46.5 
60.0 
45.3 
73.4 
61.8 

17.1 
5.0 
19.5 
10.6 
15.7 
15.2 
17,9 
30.9 
24.1 

4.7 
1.9 
0.9 

4.7 
0..7 
0,7 
0.8 
2.1 
2,0- 

3.3 
2.3 
6.9 
6.0 
7.1 
3.o 
2.6 
5.0 
2.0 

7.7 
8.5 
19.2 
19.4 
14.8 
28.8 
14.9 
19.3 
4.1 

4.1 
2.9 
5.6 
8.5 
4.7 
5.1 
4.7 
9.4 
5.1 

3.4 

0.5 
1.7 
5.3 
1.9 
3.7 
1.5 
2.7 
1.7 

19.7 
41.8 
1.5 
2.7 
0.6 
1.2 
1.8 
1.3 
20.5 

5.3 
3.8 
2.1 
1.9 
1.3 
1.1 
1.4 
2.3 
2.5 

1.7 

j  2.7 

;2.  • 
'2.6* 

T.5* 
»1.5 

II.— GREEN  FODDER. 


Meadow  grass,  in  blossom 

Young  grass 

Rye' grass 

Timothy ?. 

Other  grasses 

Oats,  beginning  to  head 

"    in  blossom 

Barley,  beginning  to  head 

"    in  blossom 

Wheat,  beginning  to  head 

"    in  blossom , 

Rye  fodder 

Hungarian  millet 

Red  clover 

White,  clover 

Swedish  clover 

Lucern 

Esparsette 

Anthyllis  vulneraria.* 

Green  vetches 


"    rape. 


815 


23.3 

20.7 
21.3 


700  21.0 
700  21.8 
17.0 

770  16.& 
750  22,3 
680  22.5 
770  22.4 
690  21.7 
700  16.3 


23.1 
13.4 
13.6 
10.2 
17.0 
11.0 
12.3 


820  15.7 


13.7 


850  13.5 


.  o." 
11.6 
5.3 

6.1 

7.2 
7-1 

6.5 
8.0 

5.9 

7.8 

5.6 

6.3 
8.0 
4.6 
2.4 
3.5 
4.5 
4.6 
1.3 
6.6 
5.6 
4.4 


1.5 

2.2 
1.7 
2.3 
1.7 
1.4 
1.4 
2.3 
2.2 
1.7 
1.6 
2.4 
1.3 
1.3 
2.0 
-1.0 
1.5 
1.2 
0-9 


1.2 


•  i.9 
2.1 
8.4 
7.5 
8.2 
4.7 
5.5 
7.0 

10.8 
9.4 

12.3 
5.2 

.6.7 

"0.4 
0.6 
0.1 
0.4 
0.5 
0.4 
0.3 
0.4 

1,0.4 


1.9 
0.4 
1.1 
1.1 

0.9 
0.8 
0.7 
1.2 
0.8 
1.2 
0.6 

1.5 

0.5 
0.4 
0.3 
0.3 
0.3 


10.6 
'0.4 
^0.7 
.0.8 
0.7 

'0.3 

0.4 

(0.5 
0.7 
0.3 
0.5 


lei's 

0.6 


'0.3 


'0.6 


36  THE   GRASSES 

Proximate  composition  of  agricultural  plants  and  products,  giving  the 
average  quantities  water,  organic  matter,  ash,  albuminoids,  carbohy- 
drates, etc.,  crude  fibre,  fat,  etc.,  by  Professors  Wolff  and  Knop,* 


SUBSTANCE. 


Organic 
matter. 


HAY. 

Meadow  hay,  medium  quality 

Aftermath 

Red  clover,  full  blossom 

"       ••        ripe 

White  clover,  full  blossom 

Swedish,  or  Alsike  clover  (TrifoUum  hybridum) 

"       clover,  ripe 

Lucern,  young 

'*        in  blossom 

Sandlucern,  early  blossom  (Medicago  intermedia) 

Esparsette,  in  blossom 

Incarnate  clover      "          (TrifoUum  incarnatum) 

Yellow  **          "  (Medicago  lupulina) 

Vetches,  in   blossom.... 

Peas  "        " 

Field  spurry,  in  blossom   (Spergula  arvensi») 

"        "         after  blossom 

Serradella  "  "        (Omithopus  sativus) 

before  "          

Italian  rye  grass  (Lolium  Italicum) 

Timothy  (Pldeum  pratense) 

Early  meadow  grass  (Poa  annua) 

Crested  dog's  tail  (Cynosuras  cristatus)  

Soft  brome  grass  (Bromus  mollis). 

Orchard  grass  (Dactylis  glomerata) 

Barley  grass  (Hordeum  pratense) 

Meadow  foxtail  (Alopecurus  pratensis) 

Oat  grass,  French  rye  grass  (Arrhenatherum  avena- 

ceum) « 

English  rye  grass  (Lolium  perenne) 

Barter  Schwingel  (Festucaf) 

Sweet-cented  vernal  grass   (Anthoxouthum,  odora- 

lum) 

Velvet  grass  (Holms  lanatus) 

Spear  grass,  Kentucky  blue  grass  (Poa  pratensis)... 

Rough  meadow  grass  (Poo  trivialis) 

Yellow  oat  grass  (Avena  flavescens) 

Quaking  grass  (Brixa  media) 

Average  of  all  the  grasses 


!  14.3 1 79.5 1  C.2 
14.379$   6.5 

16.7177.1)  6.2 
lli.7  77.7  5.6 
8.5 


10.7 

16.7 

,16.7 
116.7 


74.8 
75.0 
78.3 

74.0 


16.7]76.9 
16.71 77.2 
16.7)77.1 
116.7  76.1 
1 16.7 ;  77.3 
..i  16.7  75.0 
..J16.7  76.3 
116.7  73.8 
116.7  75.5 
16.7  77.7 
16.776.8 


14.3 '81.2 
1 14.3 ' 83.3 

i  A   •  >    on  r> 


14.3 180.7 


14.3!  80.4 
14.3:79.9 


8.2 1 41.3 
9.5  i  45. 7 

13.4 i 29.9 
9.4  20.3 

14.9 

15.3 

10.2 

19.7 

14.4 

15.2 

13.3 

12.2  30.1 

14.8 

14.2 

14.3 

12.0  39.8 


•2:2..:, 
•Jfi.9 


7.8 
14.6 
15.3 
8.7 
9.7 
10.1 


41.7 

29.2 


48.8    22.' 


47.2 


5.5      9.5  48. 


>.0    14.8 


14.3  75.8  9.9 
14.3  79.2  6.5 
14.3'81.0  4.7 


14.3 '80,3 
143 1 80.2 
14.3180.6 
14.3  78.6 
14.3179.8 
14.3)78.3 
14.3 1 79.9 


11.6 


11.1 

10.2 


f,1.4 


30.0 
24.0 
35.8 
48  ()'• 

25>j 
30.5 
45.0 
22.0 
40.0 
35.1 
27.1 


25.5, 
25.2 
22.0 
26.0 
33.9 
26.1 


36  o 

40.7 


9.6 
10.6  39.5 


38.9 


10.4  37.5 


40.2 
36.7 
39.1 
37.6 
4v!6 
42.8 


9.5  41.7 


25.9 
22.6 


28.9 

*7.2 
29.  0 


30.2 
33.2 

31.2 

33.6 
32.6 
32.6 
30.8 
303 
28.7 


2.0 
2.4 
3.2 
2.0 
3.5 
3.3 
2.2 
3.3 
2.5 
3.0 
2.5 
3.0 
3.3 
2.5 
2.6 
3.2 
2.5 
1.5 
1.9 
2.8 
3.0 
2.9 
2.8 
1.8 
2.7 
2.0 
2.5 

2.7 
27 
2.9 

2.9 
3.1 
2.3 
3.2 
2.2 
2.6 
2.6 


"This  table  is.  as  regards  water  and  ash,  a  repetition  of  last  table,  but  includes  the 
newer  analyses  of  1865-7.  Therefore  the  averages  of  water  and  ash  do  not  in  all  cases 
agree  with  those  of  the  former  tables.  It  gives  besides,  the  proportions  of  nitrogenou* 
and  non-nitrogenous  compounds,  i.  e.t  albuminoids  and  carbohydrates,  etc.  It  also 
states  the  averages  of  crude  fibre  and  of  fat,  etc.  The  discussion  of  the  data  of  thi* 
table  belongs  to  the  subjects  of  Food  and  Cattle-Feeding. 

t  Organic  matter  here  signifies  the  combustible  part  of  the  plant. 

i  Carbohydrates,  etc.,  includes  fat,  starch,  sugar,  pectin,  etc.,  all  la  fart  of  Org.  mottar 
except  albuminoids  and  crude  fiber. 

i  Crude  fiber  is  impure  cellulous. 

T  Fat,  etc.,  is  the  ether-extract,  and  contains  besides  fat,  \rnv  4Uor«phjrll,  an,d  in 
gome  cases  resins—  Professor  Samuel  W.  Johnson,  in  "How  Crops  Grow." 


OF   TENNESSEE. 


Proximate  composition  of  agricultural  plants  and  products: 


SUBSTANCE. 

I 

1  Organic 
matter. 

1 

Albumi- 
noids. 

1  Carbohy- 
drate?, etc. 

I 

1 

0 

i 

GREEN   FODDER. 
Grass,  before  blossom  

75.0 
69.0 
83.0 
78.0 
80.5 
85.0 
82.0 
81.0 
74.0 
78.0 
80.9 
81.5 
80.0 
80.0 
82.0 
81  5 

229 
29.0 
15.5 
20.3 
17.5 
13.5 
16.2 
17.3 
24.0 
20.1 
18.5 
16.9 
18.5 
18.7 
162 
17.0 
17.6 
25.5 
14.6 
16.7 
32.0 
25.1 
21.6 
18.0 

2.1] 

2.0 
1.5 
1.7 
2.0 
1.5 
1.8 
1.7 
2.0 
1.9 
1.5 
1.6 
1.5 
1.3 
1.8 
1.5 
1.4 
1.6 
1.1 
1.1 
2.4 
0.9 
1.1 
2.0 

3.0 
2.5 
3.3 
3.7 
3.5 
3.3 
3.3 
4.5 
4.5 
4.0 
3.2 
2-.7 
3.5 
3.6 
3.1 
3.2 
2.3 
3.3 
0.9 
1.1 
5.9 
2.5 
2.9 
2.3 

12.9 
15.0 
7.7 
8.6 
8.0 
5.7 
6.3 
7.8 
7.0 
6.6 
8.8 
6.7 
9.0 
7.0 
7.6 
8.2 
8.8 
14.9 
8.7 
10.9 
15.0 
15.3 
11.9 
10.4 

7.0 
11.5 
4.5 
8.0 
6.0 
4.5 
6.6 
5.0 
12.5 
9.5 
6.5 
7.5 
6.0 
8.1 
5.5 
5.6 
6.5 
7.3 
5.0 
4.7 
11.5 
7.3 
6.7 
5.3 

o.s 

0.7 
0.7 

0.8 
0.8 
0.6 
0.6 
0.6 
0.7 
0.8 

o-c 

0.6 
0.8 
0.4 
0.6 
0.6 
0.5 
0.9 
0.5 
0.5 
1.5 
1.4 

0.7 

"      after           "                 

Red  clover  before  blossom               

•»            full                       «                                         

White    "    "               "        

Swedish  clover  early  blossom 

««         full        "        

liucern,  very  young  

*'        in  blossom        ... 

Sand  lucern  early  blossom  +  

Esparsette  in                        

Incarnate  clover  in               (Trifotium  incarnatum)  
Yellow  clover  in                     (Medicago  lupulina) 

Seradella          "                      (Ornithopus  sativus)  

Vetches             "                     

Peas                  "                      

Oats  early  blossom       

81.0 
72.9 
84.3 
82.2 
65.6 
74.0 
77.3 
80.0 

Bye          

Maize   late  end  August.         

"       early        "          

Hungarian  millet,  in  blossom,  (Panicum  germanicum)... 
Sorghum  sacchardtum  •    

Field  spurry  in  blossom  

38  THE   GRASSES 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DESIRABLE  QUALITY  OF  GRASSES — HOW  TO  ESTABLISH 
PASTURES  AND  MEADOWS  —  MAINTENANCE  AND  IM- 
PROVEMENT OF  MEADOWS  —  WHAT  KIND  OF  MANURES 
TO  USE. 

Grasses,  as  they  are  to  be  cut  for  hay  or  fed  off  by  stock, 
are  called  meadow  grasses  or  pasture  grasses.  By  their 
structure  some  grasses  are  fitted  only  for  the  meadow,  while 
others  are  fitted  only  for  the  pasture ;  a  few  are  suited  to 
both  uses.  Grasses  with  tuberous  roots  are  purely  meadow 
grasses.  It  is  the  nature  of  such  plants  to  store  up  in  their 
bulbs  one  year  the  material  of  growth  for  the  next.  It  re- 
quires therefore  a  certain  time  for  maturing  the  bulbs,  and 
they  must  not  be  interfered  with  when  formed.  Manifestly 
cattle  cropping  over  a  field  would  prevent  the  formation  of 
bulbs,  or,  if  already  formed,  would  soon  destroy  them, 
either  by  tramping  or  biting  off  their  crowns.  Timothy  is  a 
type  of  this  grass.  For  the  meadow  it  is  almost  without  a 
rival — for  permanent  pasture  it  is  scarcely  worth  sowing. 
Again,  among  meadow  grasses  some  are  valued  on  account 
of  the  amount  of  nutritious  seed  they  yield,  as  is  the  case 
with  timothy,  while  others,  as  redtop  or  herds  grass  are 
principally  valued  for  their  forage. 

A  pasture  grass  needs  the  property  of  springing  up  rap- 
idly after  being  bitten  down  and  resisting  the  tramping  of 
cattle.  Blue  grass  is  the  best  known  type  of  the  pasture 
grass. 

A  few  grasses,  if  left  to  themselves,  grow  rank,  form 
thick  bunches  or  tussocks,  and  get  hard  and  tough,  but  if 
sown  along  with  other  grasses  that  crowd  them  remain 
slender  and  tender.  Such  is  orchard  grass,  which  also 
submits  to  frequent  and  close  cropping,  and  is  therefore  an 
excellent  pasture,  as  well  as  good  meadow  grass. 


OF   TENNESSEE.  89 

Again,  grasses  are  esteemed  for  the  time  when  they  begin 
to  grow  in  spring  and  ripen  their  seed  in  summer.  The 
grass  that  comes  forward  in  spring  when  other  green  food 
is  wanting  is  especially  valuable  in  the  pasture;  nor  is  the 
grass  that  yields  an  early  crop  of  hay  less  valuable  for  the 
meadow. 

The  amount  and  quality  of  the  aftermath,  or  second  crop 
of  hay,  is  also  an  important  item  in  estimating  the  eco- 
nomic value  of  any  grass. 

Furthermore,  the  value  of  any  given  grass  to  any  par- 
ticular farmer  will  depend  upon  its  adaptability  to  his  land. 
Some  grasses  thrive  on  low  lands  but  will  scarcely  live  on 
uplands,  while  others  confine  themselves  to  uplands  entirely. 
Soils,  and  exposure  too,  have  much  to  do  with  the  success 
and  value  of  different  grasses.  So  that  the  farmer  who 
comes  to  consider  the  subject  of  grasses,  will  find  it  no  easy 
matter  to  select  the  best  grasses  for  his  farm.  It  will  re- 
quire no  small  degree  of  study  and  reflection. 

As  an  aid  to  farmers  desiring  to  lay  down  land  to  grass, 
a  selected  list  of  long-tried  pasture  and  meadow  grasses  is 
given : 

PASTURE    GRASSES. 

Kentucky  blue  grass Poa  pratensis 

Wire  grass P.  compressa 

Spear  grass P.  annua 

Rough  stalked  meadow P.  trivialis 

Orchard  grass Dactylis  glomerata 

Meadow  fescue Holcus  lanatus 

Meadow  foxtail Alopecurus  pratensis 

Sweet-scented  vernal Anthoxanthum  odoratum 

White  clover Trifolium  repens 

MEADOW    GRASSES. 

Orchard  grass Dactylis  glomerata 

Red  clover Trifolium  pratense  ' 

Timothy Phleun>  pratense 

Hungarian  grass .Panicum  Germanicuin 


40  THE   GRASSES 

There  are  many  other  grasses  included  in  most  of  the 
lists  to  be  found  in  all  the  books  from  the  time  of  Sinclair, 
and  it  may  be  that  a  better  pasture  or  meadow  can  be  made 
by  adding  them,  but  it  will  be  quite  enough  gain  for  one 
generation  if  the  farmers  of  Tennessee  will  put  in  the  few 
given.  A  caution  is  needed  in  sowing  meadows,  not  to  sow 
clover  or  orchard  grass  with  timothy,  because  they  do  not 
ripen  with  it.  Clover  and  orchard  grass,  however,  do  ad- 
mirably together,  and  if  a  small  proportion  of  sweet  vernal 
grass  be  mixed  with  them,  they  make  a  hay  of  the  very 
finest  quality.  As  a  rule,  however,  red  clover  should  not  be 
sown  in  a  permanent  meadow,  because  by  so  doing  one  of 
its  most  valuable  properties,  viz.,  preparing  the  ground  for 
other  crops,  is  lost,  and  because,  being  a  biennial,  it  is 
likely  to  run  out  on  ground  not  already  rich.  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  red  clover  should  ever  be  introduced  into  a  permanent 
pasture.  White  clover,  however,  may  be  so  used  in  many 
localities,  especially  where  milk  cows  are  kept. 

Though  not  exactly  to  the  point  of  this  paper,  it  may  not 
be  amiss  to  state  that  land  too  poor  to  carry  a  stand  of  red 
clover  may  be  brought  up  by  sowing  it  down  in  white 
dover  and  turning  under  the  white -clover  after  it  has  been 
\rell  pastured.  Peas  are  also  a  good  crop  for  the  same 
purpose.  Rye  is  an  excellent  pioneer  crop  for  red  clover, 
when  sown  in  August,  whether  pastured  or  turned  under 
in  March.  One  of  the  chief  values  of  red  clover  itself 
is  as  a  preparation  for  wheat.  A  good  clover  sod  is  better 
than  a  heavy  coating  of  manure  for  the  wheat  crop.  In 
like  manner,  land  that  is  to  be  put  down  in  permanent  grass 
can  be  better  manured  at  less  cost  by  turning  under  a  good 
clorer  sod  than  in  any  other  way.  Where  this  course  has 
been  followed,  however,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  apply 
mineral  fertilizers  to  the  grass,  else  the  clover  seeds  that 
have  been  shattered  into  the  soil  may  be  brought  forward 
so  much  as  to  take  the  grass. 

On  any  but  the  richest  soils  the  establishment  of  a  first- 


OF  TENNESSEE.  41 

class  pasture  or  meadow  is  the  work  of  many  years,  and 
of  much  care  and  attention.  On  the  best  limestone  soils, 
where  the  blue  grass  is  indigenous,  it  is  a  comparatively 
easy  matter  to  get  a  good  turf,  but,  unfortunately,  a  large 
portion  of  Tennessee  is  not  blessed  with  such  soil,  and 
for  these  regions  preparation  and  care  are  needed.  It  is  es- 
pecially for  such  sections  that  these  pages  are  written, 
though  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  pastures  and  meadows 
on  the  very  richest  of  Tennessee  lands  would  be  all 
the  better  if  the  advice  here  given  were  followed. 

It  would  perhaps  be  most  convenient  for  the  majority  of 
farmers  to  begin  rightly  with  pasture  lands.  A  large  deal 
of  the  woodland  of  the  farmers  of  Tennessee  may, 
with  comparative  ease,  be  converted  into  very  good  pas- 
tures, simply  by  clearing  out  the  undergrowth,  sowing 
down  in  good  pasture  grasses,  and  depasturing  closely  with 
oattle.  In  many  woodlands  all  that  is  needed  for  a  fair  pas- 
ture is  clearing  up  and  putting  on  the  cattle.  The  indige- 
nous grass,  if  allowed  a  chance  to  grow,  will  make  a  passa- 
ble pasture.  But  even  the  best  of  such  land  will  be  much 
benefitted  by  a  generous  seeding  of  improved  grasses  and  a 
good  top  dressing  of  manure.  In  addition  to  clearing 
out  the  undergrowth,  the  leaves  should  be  raked  off,  and  if 
a  heavy  harrow  be.  passed  over  the  ground  it  will  be 
all  the  better.  The  seeds  may  be  sown  just  after  the  harrow 
and  followed  by  a  light  brush  harrow;  or,  they  may  be  sown 
on  the  first  snow  which,  in  melting,  will  carry  them  into 
the  ground  evenly  and  to  about  the  proper  depth.  Once 
the  grass  is  set  it  needs  only  to  be  fed  properly  to  improve. 
It  may  be  slightly  grazed,  by  young  cattle,  the  first  summer; 
but  on  no  account  should  sheep  be  allowed  run  on  young  grass. 
It  is  a  generally  accepted  notion,  and  doubtless  a  true  one, 
that  on  old  pastures  sheep  are  a  help,  but  they  are  certainly 
very  destructive  to  young  grass. 

In  addition  to  the  woodland  pastures,  every  farm  needs 
other  pastures  that  have  been  cultivated.  The  preparation 


42  THE   GEASSES 

of  these  is  similar  in  every  way  to  the  preparation  for  mea- 
dows. It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  bottom 
lands  that  are  at  all  inclined  to  be  wet  are  unfitted  for 
pastures.  Wet  or  even  moist  land  will  pack  under  cattle. 
Since  land  once  laid  down  in  grass  can  never  take  the 
plow  while  the  grass  lives,  all  the  necessary  cultivation  or 
plowing  must  be  given  it  beforehand,  tand,  since  it  is  to  be 
once  for  all,  this  preparation  should  be  as  thorough  as  pos- 
sible. Thoroughly  prepared  land  should  be  entirely  free 
from  standing  water.  The  soil  should  be  so  loose  and 
friable  that  the  heaviest  rain  will  not  render  it  soggy,  nor 
the  longest  drought  make  it  crack.  An  easy  and  simple 
test  of  the  presence  of  too  much  tightness  in  land  is  to  dig 
a  few  holes,  say  two  feet  deep,  and  notice  after  a  rain  how 
long  the  water  stands  in  them.  If  it  stands  for  twelve  hours 
after  the  rain  has  ceased,  unless  the  rain  has  been  of  long 
continuance,  say  several  days,  then  the  land  needs  loosening. 
It  is  too  tight — holds  too  much  water.  For  this  the  best 
known  remedy  is  under-draining.  This  is  not  only  the 
most  effectual  but  also  the  most  profitable  remedy,  and  will 
pay  wherever  properly  applied.  The  next  best  thing,  and 
the  thing  that  should  always  be  done,  whether  the  land  is 
under-drained  or  not,  is  subsoiling.  This  can  be  done  as 
thoroughly  with  a  properly  made  bull-tongue  plow  as  with 
the  best  subsoiler  ever  patented.  The  bull-tongue  only 
needs  to  be  made  long  and  narrow,  and  sent  down  as  deep 
as  it  can  be  made  to  go  in  the  track  of  the  best  turning 
plow  to  be  had.  After  it  has  been  thoroughly  plowed,  a 
good  top  dressing  of  air-slacked  lime  should  be  given,  say 
250  bushels  to  the  acre.  Then  the  ground  should  be  well 
harrowed.  It  will  pay  to  cross-harrow,  to  be  followed  by  a 
generous  top  dressing  of  manure,  then  the  seed  put  in. 
This  last  operation  should  be  thoroughly  well  done.  The 
common  error  among  American  farmers  in  sowing  grass 
seed  is  the  putting  on  too  few  seed,  and  of  too  small  a 
variety.  There  are  undoubtedly  pastures  in  Kentucky 


OF  TENNESSEE.  43 

where  one  kind  of  grass,  blue  grass,  is  made  to  answer  a  most 
excellent  purpose,  but  the  favoring  circumstances  which 
render  this  course  practicable  do  not  occur  in  many  other 
sections,  and  nowhere  outside  of  the  blue  grass  regions. 
Even  on  this  favored  soil  there  is  good  reason  for  believing 
that  the  addition  of  several  other  kindred  grasses  wou!4  add 
much  to  the  best  pastures.  Be  this  as  it  may,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  very  great  advantage  to  be  derived  from 
a  variety  of  grasses  in  other  localities.  One  of  the  first 
things  observed  by  Sinclair  in  his  experiments  was  the  fact 
that  there  is  naturally  a  constant  succession  in  the  time  of 
blooming  of  different  grasses.  As  a  result  of  this  condition 
of  things,  it  is  practicable  to  make  a  turf  which  shall 
continue  in  good  heart  from  early  spring  to  late  winter. 
By  reference  to  the  table  on  another  page,  the  time  of 
blooming  of  the  various  grasses  may  be  learned. 

Another  most  important  point  to  be  determined  in  seed- 
ing down  land  to  pasture  is  the  adaptability  of  the  grass  to 
the  location  and  soil.  It  is  by  no  means  to  be  supposed 
that  a  grass  that  is  rich  and  luxuriant  in  one  place  will  be 
equally  so  in  every  place.  The  very  reverse  is  more  likely 
to  be  the  case.  Again,  it  is  by  no  means  the  rankest  grass 
that  makes  the  finest  pasture — on  the  contrary,  the  finest 
beef  and  the  finest  mutton  are  both  grown  on  grass  com- 
paratively short  though  rich  and  nutritious.  Indeed  it  is 
the  experience  of  the  best  grass  farmers  that  great  fineness 
of  grass  is  incompatible  with  great  luxuriance. 

The  notion  too  commonly  prevails  that  when  once  a 
farmer  has  put  his  grass  in  the  ground  his  work  is  done — 
that  for  the  future  he  must-  trust  to  Providence,  or,  more 
commonly,  to  luck.  Nothing  could  be  further  from  the 
truth.  His  work  is  by  no  means  done.  It  is  only  begun. 
In  the  caset  of  meadows  and  pastures,  faith  without  works 
is  of  no  avail.  Providence  never  asks  to  be  trusted,  but 
demands  to  be  obeyed.  Luck  is  a  myth — there  is  no  such 
thing.  Results  good  or  bad  flow  naturally  and  inevitably 


44  THE   GRASSES 

from  wise  attention  to,  or  unwise  neglect  of  the  laws  of 
nature.  In  the  matter  in  hand  these  laws  are  few,  simple 
and  easily  ascertained.  Perhaps  they  may  be  embraced  in 
two  short  sentences,  viz :  To  preserve  a  good  stand  of  grass 
it  needs  to  be  abundantly  fed.  Different  grasses  require 
different  foods. 

If  we  may  judge  from  the  practice  that  prevails  almost 
universally  in  Tennessee,  farmers  do  not  seem  to  be  aware 
that  pastures  or  meadows  ever  need  to  be  manured.  If 
there  is  a  farmer  in  the  State  who  habitually  spreads  ma- 
nure over  his  pastures  or  his  meadows,  he  is  a  rare  excep- 
tion to  his  class.  It  cannot  be  that  this  neglect  comes  from 
ignorance  of  the  fact  that  every  hay  crop  and  every  season's 
grazing  extracts  from  the  land  an  enormous  bulk  of  plant 
material. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  any  one  can  fail  to  see  so 
large  a  fact.  It  must  be,  therefore,  that  the  notion  prevails 
because  land  laid  down  in  grass  does  not  wash  away  or 
run  out  so  rapidly  as  land  under  the  plow,  that  therefore  it 
need  not  to  be  kept  in  heart.  Such  a  notion  is  entirely 
erroneous.*  The  roots  of  the  natural  grasses  are  almost 
entirely  fibrous.  They  descend  only  a  few  inches  below 
the  surface.  Of  necessity  their  food  must  be  obtained  in  a 
thin  layer  of  top  soil  There  is  no  chance  for  the  air  with 
its  warmth,  or  the  rain  with  its  moisture  to  penetrate  it, 
and  the  ammonia  of  both  air  and  water  is  almost  entirely 
out  off  from  the  soil.  There  is,  therefore,  no  source  left 
open  to  the  soil  whence  it  can  renew  the  supply  of  plant 
food^  taken  off  annually,  either  as  hay  or  depastured  by  stock. 
In  the  latter  case  some  return  is  made  in  the  droppings. 
This,  however,  is  never  entirely  equal  either  in  kind  or 
quality  to  the  materials  removed  from  the  soil.  But  the 
every-day  experience  of  the  farmer  is  of  itself  the  best  proof 
that  can  be  made,  if  only  he  would  think  of  it.  Why  do 
farmers  say  that  their  meadows  have  "  run  out,"  or  that 


OF  TENNESSEE.  45 

their  pastures  are  "run  out?"  Simply  because  they  have 
failed  to  feed  them.  Because  year  after  year  they  have 
taken  off  ton  after  ton  of  hay  without  returning  a  single 
pound  of  plant  food. 

The  preparation  of  land  for  a  meadow  is  so  nearly  the 
same  as  that  given  for  a  pasture  that  it  need  not  be  re- 
peated. The  grasses  specially  adapted  to  the  meadow  are, 
however,  quite  different  from  those  given  for  the  pasture. 
Timothy,  which  stands  at  the  head  of  the  meadow  grasses, 
is  altogether  unfit  for  the  pasture,  because  it  will  neither 
bear  tramping  nor  close  cropping. 

There  are,  however,  many  most  excellent  grasses  to  be  se- 
lected for  the  meadow.  In  making  this  selection  it  is  of 
exceeding  importance  to  note  the  time  of  flowering,  and 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  have  in  the  meadow,  grasses 
that  ripen  at  different  times,  for  if  this  is  allowed  really 
good  hay  cannot  be  made.  Part  of  the  hay  is  obliged  to  be 
cut  either  too  green  or  too  ripe.  It  is  always  desirable  to 
have  more  than  one  meadow,  and  so  arranged  that  they 
ghall  ripen  in  succession.  This  point  is  readily  gained  by 
selecting  for  the  different  meadows,  grasses  that  ripen  in 
succession. 

For  convenience  and  as  a  help  we  give  a  list  of  the 
grasses  that  experience  has  proved  to  be  well  adapted  to  the 
pasture.  These  lists  are  given  more  as  suggestions  than  as 
guides  or  recipes.  After  all,  each  farmer  must  exercise  his 
own  judgment  as  to  what  grasses  are  best  suited  to  his  pur- 
poses, and  best  adapted  to  his  soils. 

The  labors  of  Professor  Way  and  other  chemists  were 
chiefly  of  value  in  explaining  certain  facts  long  noted  by 
observing  farmers  concerning  the  relations  of  the  grasses 
and  soils.  Long  before  any  attempt  at  chemical  analysis  of 
the  soil  or  the  grasses  had  been  made,  it  was  well  known 
to  the  best  farmers  that  certain  grasses  were  admirably 


46  THE   GRASSES 

suited  to  certain  soils,  but  wholy  unsuited  to  others.  It 
was  also  well  known,  though  by  no  means  so  generally, 
that  certain  manures  stimulated  the  growth  of  certain 
grasses  and  seemed  to  retard  the  growth  of  others.  Chemi- 
cal analysis  disclosed  that  the  soils  that  were  suited  to  dif- 
ferent grasses  were  composed  of  different  ingredients,  or  if 
containing  the  same  ingredients,  they  were  present  in 
different  proportions.  Also  analysis  showed  that  the  grasses 
that  nourished  on  a  given  soil  were  composed  largely  of 
the  plant  food  that  characterized  that  soil,  and  on  the  other 
hand  that  a  grass  that  ran  out  quickly  on  a  given  soil  con- 
tained a  large  amount  of  some  ingredient  in  which  the  soil 
was  deficient. 

From  these  facts  it  seems  but  an  easy  step  to  infer  that 
certain  manures  might  be  relied  on  to  stimulate  the  growth 
of  certain  grasses ;  yet  simple  and  easy  as  the  step  seems  it 
was  not  taken  with  anything  like  assurance  until  those  dis- 
tinguished experimenters,  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  of  Rotham- 
sted,  England,  demonstrated  by  a  series  of  field  experiments 
continued  through  several  years,  that  the  character  of  the 
herbage  in  different  parts  of  any  given  pasture  or  meadow 
in^ay  be  entirely  changed  by  the  continued  and  abundant 
use  of  different  manures.  The  reports  of  these  experiments 
were  made  to  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England, 
and  are  to  be  found  in  the  journals  of  that  society  from 
1858  to  1865.  The  general  results  of  these  experiments 
may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows  : 

I.  Mineral  Manures,  (super-phosphate  of  lime,  sulphate 
of  soda,  sulphate  of  magnesia),  stimulated  the  growth   of 
the  leguminous  plants,  (clovers),  but   scarcely   affected   the 
natural  grasses. 

II.  Nitrogenous  manures,  (guano  and  ammonical  salts), 
stimulated  the  natural  grasses  and  discouraged  the  legumi- 
nous herbage. 


OF   TENNESSEE.  47 

III.  A  judicious  mixture  of  mineral  and    nitrogenous 
manures  increased  the  growth  of  grasses  far  beyond  the  sum 
of  increase  attained  by  the  two  used  separately. 

IV.  Farm-yard  manure  stimulated  the  growth  of  both 
the     grasses    and    leguminous    herbage,    but    chiefly   the 
former. 

V.  A  mixture  of  mineral  manures,  (consisting  of  200 
pounds  of  bone  ash,  150  pounds  sulphuric  acid,  300  pounds 
sulphate  of  potash,  200  pounds  sulphate  of  soda,  100  pounds 
sulphate  of  magnesia,  and  400  pounds  each  of  muriate  and 
sulphate  ammonia,  exceeded  in  increase  by  more  than  a  ton 
per  acre  the  increase  produced  by  14  tons  of  farm-yard  ma- 
nure of  good  quality. 

It  may  perhaps  be  useful  to  relate  how  these  experiments 
were  tried.  A  piece  each  of  meadow  and  pasture  of  uniform 
quality  and  condition  was  laid  off  and  a  careful  examination 
and  record  made  of  the  kinds  of  herbage  and  their  propor- 
tions. The  lands  were  then  laid  off  in  plats  and  the  several 
manures  applied  year,  after  year.  At  the  close  of  every 
growing  season  each  plat  was  carefully  examined  and  a 
record  made  of  the  proportions  of  the  different  plants  pres- 
ent. Two  of  the  plats  were  kept  unmanured  as  standards 
of  comparison.  The  hay  cut  from  the  meadow  plats  was 
carefully  weighed  and  analyzed,  so  that  the  experiments  not 
only  show  how  much  increase  each  manure  gives  in  bulk 
but  also  what  plants  it  increases  and  how  it  influences  the 
quality  of  the  hay.  These  results  render  the  experiments 
by  far  the  most  valuable  yet  made  in  grass  culture.  With 
the  exception  of  the  chemical  analyses  these  experiments 
made  be  repeated  by  any  intelligent  farmer.  It  is 
only  through  such  experiments  that  new  facts  may  be 
learned  or  old  notions  put  to  the  test.  This  is  the  kind  of 
work  waiting  the  educated  farmers. 

As  a  practical  conclusions  from  their  experiments,  Messrs, 
Laws  and  Gilbert  advise   the   farmers   to  apply  a 


48  THE    GRASSES 

amount  of  barn-yard  manure,  in  a  well  rotted  state,  every 
four  or  five  years,  and  a  small  quantity  of  commercial  ma- 
nure every  year,  say  in  January  or  February.  Under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances,  however,  and  with  the  best  of 
treatment,  the  establishment  of  a  really  good  turf  is  the 
work  of  years.  But  when  once  established  it  is  a  thorough- 
ly safe  and  exceedingly  profitable  investment. 


OF   TENNESSEE.  49 


CHAPTER  V* 

SHORT  REVIEW  OP  THE  LIFE-HISTORY  OF  PLANTS, 
AND  THEIR  CLASSIFICATION,  WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE 
TO  GRASSES  AND  FORAGE  HERBS — CONTRIBUTED  BY  DR. 
GATTINGER. 

Plants  are  living  organic  beings,  deriving  their  origin 
unconditionally  from  other  like  beings  (parentage),  as  de- 
tached particles  of  the  same  by  fission,  budding,  or  seed 
production,  which,  under  the  influence  of  light,  heat  and 
moisture,  possess  the  faculty  of  growing  and  developing 
into  bodies,  exactly  like  those  from  which  they  have  been 
first  detached.  This  growth  they  accomplish  by  attracting 
and  taking  within  themselves  simple  elements  or  inorganic 
compounds  from  their  surroundings,  which,  by  their  power 
of  assimilation  they  convert  into  organic  compounds  or  tis- 
sues like  their  own.  At  a  certain  period  of  their  growth 
and  development  they  become  able  to  reproduce  themselves, 
which  is  called  their  state  of  maturity,  after  which  their 
cycles  of  life  are  either  closed,  and  the  parental  plant 
decays — annual  plants,  or  they  repeat  indefinitely  that  pro- 
cess of  reproduction  and  individual  growth — perennials. 

This  simple  sketch  of  vegetable  life  is  within  the  univer- 
sal assemblage  of  individual  plants,  which  we  call  the  vege- 
table kingdom,  carried  out  under  a  wonderful  variety  of 
forms  and  methods.  The  human  intellect,  in  its  endeavor 
to  understand  the  meaning  of  this  untold  number  of  forms, 
has,  since  the  dawn  of  civilization,  attempted  to  group  the 
like  and  the  unlike  until  it  in  recent  days  succeeded  in 
establishing  a  rational  system  of  classification. 

For  this  purpose  it  has  been  agreed  upon,  that  the  aggre- 
4 


50  THE  GRASSES 

gate  of  individuals,  descending  from  one  another  and  from 
common  ancestors,  and  those  which  resemble  them  as  strongly 
as  they  resemble  one  another,  should  be  called  Species. 

Groups  of  similar  or  related  species  are  called  Genera. 

Groups  of  genera  similarly  related  as  the  above  constitute 
Families. 

The  highest  generalizations  are  denominated  Classes  and 
Divisions. 

All  these  divisions  have  received  special  denominations, 
and  the  identity  of  an  individual  is  recognized  by  the  ex- 
pression of  the  name  of  its  generic  and  specific  name,  e.  g. 
viola  odorata,  scented  violet ;  lilicum  candidum,  white  lily. 

All  plants,  from  the  minute  to  the  gigantic,  simplest  or 
wonderfully  complex,  whether  aquatic,  terrestrial  orparisitic, 
in  considering  their  method  of  propagation,  can  be  grouped 
into  two  series  : 

Series  I.  Phsenogamous,  or  flowering  plants,  which  pro- 
duce flowers  and  seeds,  the  latter  containing  a  ready-formed 
embryo. 

Series  II.  Cryptogamous,  or  flowerless  plants,  whose 
organs  of  reproduction  are  not  flowers,  but  some  more  or 
less  analagous  apparatus,  and  which  are  propagated  by 
spores  or  specialized  cells. 

Omitting  the  cryptogamous  series,  which  has  no  repre- 
sentatives amongst  our  meadow  and  forage  plants,  except  as 
occasional  intruders  and  fearful  enemies  to  their  life  and 
development,  in  which  respect  they  will  be  hereafter  shortly 
mentioned,  and  scrutinizing  the  structure  of  the  Pha3noga- 
mous  series,  we  shall  find  that  their  growth  or  increase  takes 
place  either  by  an  annual  addition  upon  the  periphery— 
exogens,  "outside  growers" — or  the  newly  formed  woody 
matter  is  intermingled,  with  the  old,  or  deposited  towards 
the  center,  which  becomes  more  and  more  occupied  with 
the  woody  threads  as  the  stem  grows  older,  and  the  increase 
in  diameter  takes  place  by  gradual  distension  of  the  whole ; 
such  plants  are  called  endogens,  or  "  inside  growers." 


OF   TENNESSEE.  51 

The  two  great  classes  of  Phsenagamous  plants,  indicated 
by  this  difference  of  the  stem,  possess  also  a  marked  differ- 
ence in  the  structure  of  their  seeds.  The  embryo  of  all 
endogenous  plants  sprouts  with  only  one  cotyledon  or  seed 
leaf.  Hence  they  are  called  Monocotyledonous  plants.  The 
embryo  of  the  exogens  bears  a  pair  of  cotyledons,  hence 
exogens  are  also  called  Dicotyledonous  plants. 

The  Monocotyledons,  with  a  stately  assembly  of  fami- 
lies, furnish  us  with  the  families  of  the  Grasses  (graminece) 
and  the  Sedge  family  (Cyperacece) ,  while  the  Dicotyledons 
embrace  several  families,  which  constitute  more  or  less  val- 
uable pasturage  herbs,  but  the  Leguminous  or  Pulse  family 
is  the  most  important  one,  and  deserves  especial  attention. 

It  has  been  stated  that  Phsenogamous  plants  possess  vis- 
ible organs  of  reproduction.  When  these  organs  are  en- 
closed within  envelopes  for  their  protection,  this  envelope 
is  called  flower.  The  flower  is  called  complete  when  the 
envelope  consists  of  two  circles  of  flowering  leaves,  the 
outer  and  lower  one  called  the  calyx,  the  interior  and  gen- 
erally delicately  colored  one,  the  corolla.  The  parts  or 
leaves  forming  the  calyx  are  termed  the  sepals,  the  parts  of 
the  corolla — petals.  The  petals,  however,  are  frequently 
absent  when  the  flower  is  said  to  be  apetalous,  or  petals  and 
sepals  both  wanting,  when  the  flower  is  called  incomplete. 

The  essential  organs  of  flowers  are  likewise  of  two  kinds 
and  disposed  in  two  circles,  one  including  the  other.  The 
outer  ones  are  called  stamens.  A  stamen  consists  of  a  col- 
umn or  stalk  called  the  filament,  to  the  apex  of  which  is 
attached  a  rounded  case,  called  the  anther,  filled  with  a 
powdery  substance  caljed  the  pollen,  which  it  at  length  dis- 
charges through  one  or  more  slits.  The  remaining  seed- 
bearing  organs  which  occupy  the  summit  of  the  flower  are 
termed  the  pistils.  A  pistil  is  distinguished  into  three  parts, 
the  ovary,  the  hollow  portions  at  the  base  which  contains 
the  ovules  or  bodies  destined  to  become  seeds ;  the  style  or 
columnar  prolongation  of  the  apex  of  the  ovary,  and  tbe 


52  THE     GEASSES 

stigma,  a  portion  of  the  surface  of  the  style  denuded  of 
epidermis,  often  assuming  a  great  diversity  of  appearance. 

Flowers  possessing  both  these  essential  organs  are  perfect 
(hermaphrodite  or  bi-sexual),  although  from  absence  of  the 
floral  envelopes  they  may  be  incomplete. 

Whenever  either  of  these  essential  organs  is  wanting  or 
abortive  in  one  flower  of  the  same  individual  or  species, 
and  present  on  another,  the  flower  is  said  to  be  diclinous  or 
unisexual.  The  flower  which  has  the  stamen  only  is  called 
the  male  or  sterile  flower,  and  the  one  with  pistils  only 
female  or  fertile  flower. 

In  separated  flowers  the  two  kinds  of  blossoms  may  be 
borne  either  on  different  parts  of  the  same  individual,  or 
upon  entirely  different  individuals,  the  flowers  in  the  first 
instance,  like  these  of  Indian  corn  or  oak,  are  called  mono3- 
cious  (living  in  one  house),  or  they  are  borne  upon  entirely 
different  individuals,  like  hemp  or  sassafras,  and  then  they 
are  called  dio3cious  (living  in  two  houses).  One  is  called 
the  male  plant,  the  other  the  female. 

Sometimes  both  these  conditions  occur  upon  the  same  spe- 
cies, and  plants  with  such  flowers  are  called  polygamous. 
In  some  flowers  the  floral  envelopes  are  developed,  while 
the  pistils  and  stamens  remain  undeveloped,  and  are  there- 
fore said  to  be  neutral. 

In  some  grasses  and  other  plants  all  parts  of  a  flower  are 
sometimes  reduced  to  a  mere  rudiment. 

The  supremacy  in  the  vegetable  world,  in  regard  to  struc- 
ture, is  by  no  means  so  undisputed  as  in  the  animal,  and 
several  families  are  contesting  for  the  prize. 

The  power  of  voluntary  motion  is  one  of  the  essential 
qualities  of  superiority  of  animal  over  vegetable  life,  and 
wherever  an  approach  to  such  power  of  self-motion  is  ob- 
served, we  concede  such  species  of  plants  a  higher  rank  in 
relation  to  their  less  gifted  brethren. 

The  Leguminous  family,  which  concerns  us  so  much  for 
agricultural  reasons,  and  as  a  large  shareholder  in  our  mea- 


OF  TENNESSEE.  53 

dows  and  pastures,  embraces  within  its  ranks  many  a  mem- 
ber capable  of  putting  into  motion  certain  parts  of  their 
bodies  either  as  .a  response  or  reaction  to  external  mechani- 
cal or  chemical  irritation,  executing  them  with  considerable 
dispatch  and  regularity.  Or  again,  some  others  possess  the 
faculty  of  giving  gradual  direction  to  some  of  their  organs 
by  which  unmistakeable  advantages  are  gained  for  the  posi- 
tion, the  growth  or  seed  production  of  the  individual. 

In  selecting  one  type  of  this  family,  and  explaining  its 
parts  and  functions,  the  characteristics  of  the  Leguminous 
family,  and  along  with  it  the  process  of  fructification  and 
seed  production  jn  all  Phsenogamous  plants  will  be  ex- 
plained. Take  the  bean  plant.  The  principal  member  of 
it  is  the  axis,  which  rises  into  the  air;  erect,  with  one  part, 
while  the  other  is  imbedded  in  the  earth  and  forms  the  root. 

The  appendages  of  the  stem  are  leaves,  developed  from 
the  opposite  sides  of  successive  nodes,  the  parts  between 
these  nodes  are  called  inter-nodes,  which  become  shorter 
and  shorter  towards  the  summit  of  the  stem,  which  ends  in 
a  terminal  bud.  Buds  are  also  developed  in  the  axils  of  the 
leaves,  and  some  of  them  grow  into  branches  which  repeat 
the  characters  of  the  stem,  but  others,  when  the  plant  at- 
tains its  full  development,  grow  into  stalks  which  support 
flowers,  each  of  which  consists  of  a  calyx:,  a  corolla,  a  stam- 
inal  tube  and  a  central  pistil ;  the  latter  is  terminated  by  a 
style,  the  free  end  of  which  is  the  stigma.  The  staminal 
tube  ends  in  ten  filaments,  four  of  which  are  rather  shorter 
than  the  rest,  nine  of  them  are  grown  together  into  a  tube, 
one  is  free  to  its  point  of  insertion.  Such  an  arrangement 
has  in  botanical  terminology  been  called  "  diadelphous," 
(dis — two  aldephus- — brother).  The  pistil  is  hollow,  and 
within,  along  the  ventral  side,  (the  side  turned  towards  the 
axis),  is  attached,  by  short  stalks,  a  longitudinal  series  of 
minute  bodies,  the  ovules.  Each  ovule  consists  of  a  central 
conical  nucleus,  invested  by  two  coats,  an  outer  and  an 
inner.  Opposite  the  summit  of  the  nucleus  these  coats  are 


54  THE   GEASSES 

perforated  by  a  canal,  the  micropyle,  which  leads  down  to 
the  nucleus.  The  nucleus  contains  a  sac — the  embryo  sac  — 
in  which  certain  cells,  one  of  which  is  the  embryo  cell,  and 
the  rest  the  endosperm  cells,  are  developed.  A  pollen  grain 
deposited  on  the  stigma  sends  out  a  thread-like  prolonga- 
tion, the  pollen  tube,  which  elongates,  passes  down  the  style, 
and  eventually  reaches  the  micropyle  of  an  ovule.  Tra- 
versing the  micropyle,  the  end  of  the  pollen  tube  penetrates 
the  nucleus,  and  comes  into  close  contact  with  the  embryo 
sac.  This  is  the  process  of  impregnation,  and  the  result  of 
it  is  that  the  embryo  cell  divides,  and  gives  rise  to  a  cellu- 
lar embryo.  This  becomes  a  minute  bean  plant,  consisting 
of  a  radicle  or  primary  root;  of  two  relatively  large  pri- 
mary leaves,  the  cotyledons  ;  and  a  short  stem,  the  plumule, 
on  which  rudimentary  leaves  soon  appear.  The  cotyledons 
now  increase  in  size,  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  rest  of  the 
embryonic  plant ;  and  the  cells  of  which  they  are  composed 
become  filled  with  starch  and  other  nutritious  matter, 
legumin).  The  nucleus  and  coats  of  the  ovule  grow  to 
accommodate  the  enlarging  embryo,  but,  at  the  same  time, 
become  merged  into  an  envelope  which  constitutes  the  coat 
of  the  seed.  The  pistil  enlarges  and  becomes  the  pod ;  this 
when  it  has  attained  its  full  size,  dries  and  readily  bursts 
along  its  edges,  or  decays,  setting  the  seeds  tree.  Each  seed, 
when  placed  in  proper  conditions  of  warmth  and  moisture, 
then  germinates.  The  cotyledons  of  the  contained  embryo 
swell,  burst  the  seed  coat,  and  becoming  green,  emerge  as 
the  fleshy  seed  leaves.  The  nutritious  matters  which  they 
contain  are  absorbed  by  the  plumule  and  radicle,  the  latter 
of  which  descends  into  the  earth  and  becomes  the  root, 
while  the  former  ascends  and  becomes  the  stem  of  the 
young  bean  plant. 

The  tissues  which  compose  the  body  of  the  bean  plant  are 
bounded  at  the  surface  by  a  layer  of  epidermic  cells,  within 
which,  rounded  or  polygonal  cells  make  up  the  ground 
substance  or  parenchyma  of  the  plant,  extending  to  its  very 


OF   TENNESSEE.  55 

centre  in  the  younger  parts  of  the  stem  and  in  the  roots ; 
while  in  the  older  parts  of  the  stem  the  centre  is  occupied  by 
a  more  or  less  considerable  cavity,  full  of  air.  This  cavity 
results  from  the  central  parenchyma  becoming  torn  asunder 
after  it  has  ceased  to  grow,  by  the  enlargement  of  the  peri- 
pheral parts  of  the  stem.  Nearer  to  the  circumference  than 
to  the  centre,  lies  a  ring  of  woody  and  vascular  tissue, 
which,  in  transverse  sections,  is  seen  to  be  broken  up  into 
wedge-shaped  bundles,  by  narrow  bands  of  parenchymatous 
tissue,  which  extend  from  the  parenchyma*  within  the  circle 
of  woody  and  vascular  tissue  (medulla  or  pith)  to  that  which 
lies  outside  of  it.  Moreover,  each  bundle  of  woody  and 
vascular  tissue  is  divided  into  two  parts,  an  outer  and  an 
inner,  by  a  thin  layer  of  small  and  very  thin  cells,  termed 
the  cambium  layer.  What  lies  outside  this  layer  belongs  to 
the  bark;  what  lies  inside  it,  to  the  wood  and  pith. 

The  cells  composing  the  cambium  retain  their  power  of 
multiplication,  and  divide  by  septa  parallel  with  the 
length  of  the  stem,  or  root,  as  well  as  transverse  to  it. 
Thus  new  cells  are  continually  being  added,  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  cambium  layer,  to  the  thickness  of  the  wood, 
and  on  the  outer  side  of  it,  to  the  thickness  of  the  bark ; 
and  the  axis  of  the  plant  continually  increases  in  diameter, 
so  long  as  this  process  goes  on.  This  is  the  developement 
of  exogens. 

The  soft  parts  of  plants  as  far  as  they  are  exposed  to  the 
light,  and  as  far  as  their  epidermis  is  transparent,  are  green 
colored.  This  green  color  results  from  the  presence,  im- 
mediately below  the  epidermic  tissue,  and  imbedded  in  the 
parenchyma,  of  minute,  soft  granules,  called  chlorophyll  or 
leaf  green.  These  corpuscles,  through  the  agency  of  light, 
have  taken  their  origin  in  the  "protoplasma,"  a  complex 
chemical  compound  essentially  produced  by  the  union  of  a 
few  chemical  elements,  oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  nitrogen, 
which  the  plant  absorbes  by  its  roots  and  leaves,  together 
with  some  mineral  substances  from  the  surrounding  earth 


56  THE   GEASSES 

and  atmosphere.  These  elements  dissolved  in  water  begin 
their  circulation  in  the  roots  and  leaves  of  the  plant,  and 
under  the  influence  of  light,  air  and  heat,  and  by  the  con- 
tact with  preformed  protoplasm,  they  are  gradually 
brought  over  into  one  or  the  other  form  of  this  won- 
derful substance.  The  instability  of  the  juxtaposition  of 
its  molecules  endow  it  with  an  internal  and  external 
mobility  not  possessed  by  any  other  body.  It  possesses  the 
power  to  arrange  and  re-arrange  the  above  elements  and 
some  others,  when  they  come  into  contact  with  it,  into 
organic  compounds.  Protoplasm  is  the  basis  of  all  life  upon 
earth. 

The  chlorophyll  once  formed,  induces  the  respiration  of 
plants.  The  epidermis  especially,  or  the  leaves,  which  are 
the  organs  of  this  function,  possess  innumerable  openings, 
stomata,  through  which  the  air  passes,  to  be  -absorbed  by 
the  fluids  in  the  tissues,  and  to  give  up  to  the  chlorophyll 
its  carbonic  acid.  Now  the  most  important  chemical  pro- 
cess in  the  economy  of  the  plant  is  effected,  the  carbonic 
acid  is  decomposed  and  carbon  and  oxygen  are  mutually 
set  free.  The  carbon  passing  over  into  a  new  combination 
with  hydrogen  and  oxygen  to  form  cellulose — the  general 
material  of  vegetable  fabric  of  cell  formation.  The  greatest 
part  of  the  inhaled  oxygen  is  returned  again  into  the  at- 
mosphere. All  the  woody  fibre  now  forming  upon  earth, 
and  all  the  coal  and  coal  oils  are  derived  that  way. 

It  is  evident,  that  the  nitrogenous  and  mineral  constitu- 
ents of  plant  food,  absorbed  by  the  roots  from  the  soil  have 
to  pass  from  them  through  the  stem  to  the  leaves. 

That  some  sort  of  circulation  of  fluids  must  take  place  in 
the  body  of  a  plant,  therefore,  appears  to  be  certain,  but  the 
details  of  the  process  are  by  no  means  clear.  There  is 
evidence  to  show  that  the  ascent  of  fluid  from  the  root 
to  the  leaves  takes  place  to  a  great  extent  through  the 
elongated  ducts  and  spiral  vessels  that  make  up,  together 
with  parenchymatous  cellular  tissue,  the  body  of  the  plant, 


OF  TENNESSEE.  57 

and  which  not  unfrequently  open  into  one  another  by  their 
applied  end's,  and  by  that  way  form  very  fine  capillary  tubes 
of  considerable  length. 

The  mechanism  by  which  this  ascent  is  effected  is  of  two 
kinds;  there  is  a  pull  from  above  and  a  push  from  below. 
The  pull  from  above  is  the  evaporation  which  takes  place 
at  the  surface  of  the  plant,  and  especially  in  the  air-passa- 
ges of  the  leaves,  where  the  thin- walled  cells  of  the  paren- 
chyma are  surrounded  on  almost  all  sides  with  air,  which 
communicates  directly  with  the  atmosphere  through  the 
stomates.  The  push  from  below  is  the  absorptive  action 
which  takes  place  at  the  extremities  of  the  rootlets, 
and  which,  for  example,  in  a  vine,  before  its  leaves  have 
grown  in  the  spring,  causes  a  rapid  ascent  of  the  fluid  (sap) 
absorbed  from  the  soil.  A  certain  portion  of  the  fluid  thus 
pumped  up  from  the  roots  to  the  surface  of  the  plant 
doubtless  exudes,  laterally,  through  the  walls  of  the  vessels, 
and,  passing  from  cell  to  cell,  eventually  reaches  those  which 
contain  chlorophyll.  The  distribution  of  the  compound 
containing  nitrogen  and  carbon,  whatever  it  may  be,  which 
is  formed  in  the  chlorophyll  bearing  cells,  probably  takes 
place  by  slow  diffusion  from  cell  to  cell. 

It  also  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  all  the  living  proto- 
plasm of  the  plant  undergoes  slow  oxydation,  with  evolu- 
tion of  carbonic  acid,  and  that  this  process,  alone,  takes 
place  in  the  deeper  seated  cells.  The  supply  of  oxygen 
needful  for  this  purpose  is  sufficiently  provided  for,  on  the 
one  hand,  by  the  minute  air-passages  which  are  to  be  found 
between  the  cells  in  all  parenchymatous  tissues,  and  on  the 
other,  by  the  spiral  vessels,  which  appear  always  to  contain 
air  under  normal  circumstances  in  the  woody  vascular 
bundles. 

The  replacement  of  the  oxygen  of  the  air  thus  absorbed, 
and  the  removal  of  the  carbonic  acid  formed,  will  be  suffi- 
ciently provided  for  by  gaseous  diffusion. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  results  that,  in  an  ordinary 


58  THE     GRASSES 

plant,  growing  in  damp  earth  and  exposed  to  the  sunshine, 
a  current  of  fluid  is  setting  from  the  root  toward  the  sur- 
face exposed  to  the  air,  where  its  watery  part  is  for  the 
most  part  evaporated,  while  gaseous  diffusion  takes  place 
in  the  contrary  direction  from  the  surface  exposed  to  the 
air,  through  the  air-passages  and  spiral  vessels  which  ex- 
tend from  the  stowates  to  the  radicles;  the  balance  of  ex- 
change being  in  favor  of  oxygen,  in  all  the  chlorophyll 
bearing  parts  of  the  plant,  which  are  reached  by  the  sun- 
light, and  in  favor  of  carbonic  acid  in  its  colorless  and 
hidden  regions.  At  night,  the  evaporation  diminishing  with 
the  lowering  of  the  temperature,  the  ascent  of  the  liquid 
becomes  very  slow,  or  stops,  and  the  balance  of  the  exchange 
in  the  air-passages  is  entirely  in  favor  of  carbonic  acid ; 
even  the  chlorophyll  bearing  parts  oxydizing,  while  no 
carbonic  acid  is  decomposed. 

In  the  foregoing  has  been  given  in  plain  and  untechnical 
language  approved  facts,  which,  under  proper  guidance, 
every  person  of  ordinary  intelligence  may  be  thought  to 
study  amd  to  observe  for  himself.  The  general  principle  of 
respiration,  nutrition  and  reproduction  of  plants  are,  after 
a  century's  scientific  work,  pretty  well  understood,  although 
a  great  deal  of  detail  is  yet  to  be  investigated. 

Often,  from  impure  motives,  is  science  denounced  as 
"speculation."  The  growth  of  the  pollen  tube,  and  its 
entrance  into  the  ovule  can  be  as  clearly  seen  with  the  aid 
of  a  medium  power  of  a  microscope  as  the  siomata  and 
air-passages.  That  kind  of  speculation  which  is  really  to 
be  feared  lies  within  the  boundaries  of  ignorance.  For  in- 
stance,, one  can  often  hear  assserted  that  the  rust  in  the  wheat 
is  caused  by  the  iron  present  in  the  soil  of  the  field.  The 
Agricultural  Department  in  one  of  its  recent  volumes  has 
given  to  the  farmers  a  very  exact  analysis  of  this  distressing 
phenomenon.  In  this,  like  in  ever  so  many  instances,  it  is 
again  proven  that  the  greatest  evils  and  plagues  that  affect 
man  and  his  operations,  take  their  roots  in  the  dispersion 


OF   TENNESSEE.  59 

and  endless  multiplication  of  exceedingly  minute  agencies, 
that  often  bring  the  wealth  of  nations  on  the  verge  of  ruin, 
like  the  phylloxera  of  the  grape  vine,  the  pebrine  on  the 
silk  worm,  and  scarlet  fever  and  diptheria  amongst  our 
children.  And,  one  need  not  expect  to  success- 
fully combat  those  enemies  before  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  is  able  to  partake  and  to  assist  in  a  scientific  inves- 
tigation. 

•To  determine  the  differences  between  the  various  grasses 
requires  careful  study  from  even  an  advanced  botanical 
student.  The  gramineaB  spread  over  the  whole  globe,  are  a 
very  numerous  family,  forming,  in  fact,  one  twenty-second 
part  of  all  phaenogamous  plants,  and  containing  about  300 
genera  and  4000  species.  Of  these,  74  genera  with  287 
species  belong  to  the  flora  of  the  United  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  as  they  unmber  amongst  them  all  cereals, 
they  are  unquestionably  the  most  important  part  of  the 
vegetable  kingdom  for  the  interest  of  mankind.  The  fol- 
lowing description  of  the  family  characters  is  given  accord- 
ing to  Gray's  Manual: 

Grasses,  with  usually  hollow  stems  (culms)  closed  at  the  joints,  alter- 
nate two-ranked  leaves,  their  sheaths  split  or  open  on  the  side  opposite 
the  blade  ;  the  hypogynous  flowers  imbricated  with  two-ranked  glumes 
or  bracts ;  the.  outer  pair  (glumes  proper)  subtending  the  spikelet  of  one 
or  several  flowers  ;  the  inner  pair  (paleae  or  palets)  enclosing  each  par- 
ticular flower,  which  is  usually  furnished  with  two  or  three  minute  hy- 
pogynous scales  (squamulse.)  Stamens  one  to  six,  commonly  three; 
anthers  versatile,  two-celled,  the  cells  distinct.  Styles  mostly  two  or  two- 
parted  ;  stigmas  hairy  or  feathery.  Ovary  one-celled,  one-ovuled,  form- 
ing a  seed-like  grain  (caryopsis)  in  fruit.  Embryo  small,  on  the  outside 
and  at  the  base  of  the  floury  albumen.  Roots  fibrous.  Sheath  of  the 
leaves  usually  more  or  less  extended  above  the  base  of  the  blade  into  a 
scarious  appendage  (ligule. )  Spikelets  panicled  or  spiked.  Inner  (upper) 
palet  usually  two-nerved  or  two-keeled,  enclosed  or  partly  covered  by 
the  outer  (lower)  palet.  Grain  sometimes  free,  sometimes  permanently 
adherent  to  the  palets. 

For  an  easier  understanding  of  the  structure  of  the  grass- 
flower  and  seed,  and  the  technical  terms  used  in  describing 


60  THE   GRASSES 

them,  a   few   species  are  selected  and  analyzed,  such  as  are 
known   to  everybody. 

1.  Timothy.  First  described  properly  by  the  Swedish 
botanist,  Carolus  Linnaeus.  A  type  of  grass  inhabiting  North 
and  Middle  Europe,  and  made  up  by  fourteen  different 
forms,  resembling  one  another  so  closely  that  they  suggest 
to  the  observer  a  close  relationship.  To  the  aggregate  Lin- 
naeus applied  the  name  Phleurn.  To  one  particular  phleum 
that  shows  a  predilection  for  pasture  lands,  he  gave  the  spe- 
cific name  "pratense."  Meadow  Cats-tail  or  Timothy  grass. 
It  is  a  botanical  practice  to  put  after  the  name  of  the  plant 
also  the  name  of  the  botanist  who  first  discovered  it.  There- 
fore, Phleum  pratense,  L. 

Select  a  flowering  specimen  from  the  meadows,  but  one 
from  the  haystack  may  do  as  well.  It  is  tall ;  (not  branch- 
ing laterally.)  The  flowering  or  top  end  is  called  "  inflo- 
rescence." The  spike  is  cylindrical  and  tolerably  long, 
therefore  an  elongated  spike ;  it  is  also  dense  and  harsh.  It 
is  terminal  and  solitary,  sometimes  spikes  are  terminal, 
spreading  and  numerous,  like  in  the  Crab  grass,  digitate  like 
in  the  Bermuda  or  barn-yard  grass.  They  are  lateral  some- 
times, sessile  or  peduncled.  If  arranged  shortening  toward 
the  apex  like  the  tassel  of  the  Indian  corn,  this  is  called  a 
pyramidal  raceme.  If  instead  of  shortening  toward  the 
apex  they  are  of  about  equal  length,  arranged  around  their 
rachis  like  in  that  delicate  reddish  grass  by  some  called 
"  old  man's  beard,"  that  abounds  late  in  the  season  in  gar- 
den plots  and  corn  fields,  (Leptochloa  mucronata)  then  we 
say  the  spikes  are  racemed. 

The  manner  in  which  the  single  flowers,  spikelets,  are  ar- 
ranged along  the  spike  is  also  very  different. 

In  this  species  the  spikelets  are  closely  clustered  in  glom- 
erules  of  3-4  nearly  sessile,  densely  joining  one  another  at- 
tached to  the  rachis  or  main  axis  of  inflorescence.  In  the  mea- 
dow Fox-tail  (Alopecurus  pratensis)  which  greatly  resembles 


OF  TENNESSEE  61 

the  Timothy,  3-4  spikelets  are  similarly  arranged  to  a  consert- 
ed  cylindrical  spike.  But  if  these  single  clusters  are  more  or 
less  distant  from  another,  like  in  the  Sweet  Vernal  grass 
(Anthoxantum  ocloratum)  it  is  said  to  be  panicled-spiked. 
The  barley  bears  a  bilateral  spike,  spikelets  in  threes  on  each 
side.  Hordeum  hexastichum.  In  the  Crab  grass  (Digi- 
taria  or  Panicum  sanguinale)  the  spikelets  are  arranged  to 
one  side  of  the  rachis ;  the  rachis  may » also  be  feathered 
on  the  back  like  in  the  related  genus  Paspalum.  In  the 
barn-yard  grass  the  spikelets  are  imbricated  (like  the  shin- 
gles on  a  roof)  on  a  one-sided  spike. 

To  analyze  so  small  an  object  as  the  spikelet  of  the  Tim- 
othy, or  other  yet  more  minute  and  delicate  species,  some 
care  and  patience  are  required. 

The  spikelet  should  be  moistened  first  with  a  little  water, 
after  being  placed  upon  a  slip  of  glass,  then  the  parts  spread 
in  a  manner  to  expose  the  interior  structure.  The  moisten- 
ing prevents  the  flying  away  of  the  tiny  membranes  when 
they  are  dissected  or  distended  with  a  fine  knife  or  a  pair 
of  sewing  needles.  A  lens  to  magnify  the  object  is  indis- 
pensable. 

First  two  pairs  of  membranaceous  leaflets  are  conspicu- 
ous. vThe  lowest  pair  is  called  "  glumes."  They  are  oppo- 
site one  another,  but  not  exactly  upon  one  "and  the  same 
level.  There  is  always  an  upper  glume  and  a  lower  glume, 
and  the  observance  of  their  mutual  relations  is  of  great  import- 
ance. Sometimes  they  are  nearly  of  one  size,  like  in  this 
instance,  but  generally  one  is  larger,  often  out  of  all  propor- 
tion, or  either  is  minute,  abortive  or  wanting,  awned  or  va- 
riously shaped,  or  represented  by  a  bristle-like 'organ  caljed 
an  awn.  (Beard.)  They  are  boat-shaped  (carinate),  ciliate 
on  the  back  (beset  with  short,  bristly  hairs),  pointed  and 
tipped  with  a  short  bristle.  Glumes  serve  as  the  common 
involucre  for  the  upper  and  interior  part  or  parts  of  the 
spikelet. 


62  THE     GRASSES 

The  upper  or  inner  pair  of  leaflets  or  palets,  (palese)  is 
here  only  half  the  size  of  the  former,  truncate  (the  apex  cut 
off)  and  include  the  ovary  with  two  distinct  styles  termi- 
nated by  feathery  stigmas.  From  the  base  of  the  ovary 
ascend  three  stamens  with  thread-like  filaments,  versatile 
bilocular  and  comparatively  large  anthers. 

2.  Blue  grass — Poa  pratensis.  L.  Inflorescence  a  pani- 
cle. It  will  be  remembered  that  above  the  tassel  of  Indian 
corn  has  been  designated  a  pyramidal  raceme  ;  i.  e.  from  the 
rachis  or  flower-bearing  prolongation  of  the  culm  radiate 
secondary  axis,  pyramidally  decreasing  toward  the  apex. 
Those  lateral  axes  again  and  often  redivided  constitute  the 
panicle.  This  panicle  is  short  pyramidal.  In  Poa  coin- 
pressa  (wire  grass)  dense  and  narrow,  in  Orchard  grass  clus- 
tered and  dense;  Oat  (a vena  sativa)  is  also  panicled.  Pani- 
cle at  the  time  of  fructification  open  and  spreading  at  length 
drooping.  Widely  and  loosely  is  termed  diffuse,  erect  if 
the  branches  point  upward,  contracted  if  the  branches  are 
drawn  close  to  the  rachis,  which  often  is  the  case  after  the 
flowering  period. 

The  spikelets  are  ovate  lanceolate  ovate,  crowded,  and 
most  of  them  almost  sessile  on  the  branches.  Each  spike- 
let  consists  of  a  pair  of  glumes  shorter  than  the  flowers,  of 
which  there  are  three  to  five ;  the  uppermost  flower  remains 
small  and  undeveloped.  (Timothy  we  have  seen  to  contain 
in  each  spikelet  only  one  flower.) 

Lower  palet  stouter  in  structure  than  the  npper  one,  mem- 
branaceo-herbaceous,  with  a  delicate  scarious  margin,  com- 
pressed-keeled, pointless,  five-nerved,  (the  intermediate 
nerves  more  obscure  or  obsolete)  hairy  at  the  margin  and 
keel ;  upper  palet  very  delicate,  two-toothed  at  the  apex.  Sta- 
mens two  to  three,  stigmas  plumose. 

The  presence  or  absence,  number  and  condition  of  the 
nerves  (vascular  bundles)  in  the  glumes  and  palese  are  of  the 
greatest  importance  in  the  analysis  of  grasses,  for  not  only 


OF   TENNESSEE.  63 

the  distinction  of  species,  but  even  of  genera  is  often  de- 
termined thereby. 

A  nerve  often  extends  over  the  lamina  of  the  glume  or 
palet,  either  at  the  apex,  or  underneath,  from  the  dorsal  or 
keel-nerve.  If  this  extension  is  small  and  delicate,  it  is 
named  a  bristle  or  bristly  apex,  if  stout  and  lengthy,  an 
awn  or  beard. 

3.  The  common  Oat.  Avena  sativa.  L.  Panicle  large, 
simple,  lax  (spikelets  remote).  Spikelets  two-flowered  on 
capillary  peduncles.  Peduncles  and  branches  rough  down- 
ward. (Roughness  felt  by  motion  of  the  fingers  down- 
ward. 

Glumes  larger  than  the  flowers,  many-nerved,  (eight  to 
ten)  thin  membranaceous,  awnless,  persistent.  (The  glumes 
holding  fast  to  their  pedicels  after  the  grain  has  fallen  off.) 
Lower  palet  herbaceous,  rounded  and  awned  on  the  back, 
above  the  base,  at  the  point  almost  bicuspidate ;  the  upper 
one  bicarinate,  awnless.  Bicarinate  means  presenting  the 
form  of  a  Greek  omega  or  transverse  section.  Awn 
twisted,  geniculate  (bent  with  an  angle)  one,  to  one  and  a 
half  inches  long. 

Stamina  three,  stigma,  two  plumose,  palets  investing  the 
long,  slightly  tufted  carvopsis,  which  is  internally  marked 
by  a  longitudinal  furrow,  hairy  at  the  point-. 

The  seed  of  grasses  (coryopsis)  is  either  free,  dropping 
out  from  the  palets  Jike  in  Sporobolus  and  Diarrhena,  or 
may  be  easily  detached  from  the  same  like  in  the  Wheat. 
At  other  times  it  is  invested  (firmly  wrapped  up  in)  one  or 
both  palese,  like  in  Oat,  or  firmly  connected  with  adhesions, 
like  in  the  Barley. 

A  significant  feature  in  the  comparison  of  grasses  affords 
also  the  Ligule  (see  above)  whether  it  be  truncate,  acute, 
smooth,  hairy,  bearded,  papillary,  etc.  Characters  are  also 
derived  from  the  root,  from  the  nodes,  mode  of  ramifica- 
tion by  the  branching  of  the  .culms. 


64 


THF   GRASSES 


The  root  is  annual,  perennial,  creeping,  stoloniferous, 
fibrous.  Culms  solitary,  in  tufts,  recumbent,  ascending, 
smooth  or  rough,  the  nodes  are  sometimes  bearded,  in  Herds 
grass  (Agrostis  vulgaris)  from  the  lowest  nodes,  bulb-like 
intumescences.  A  creeping  root  is  in  fact  a  stibteraneous 
stem.  See  fig. 


OF   TENNESSEE. 


CHAPTER  VI.* 

HOW  TO  TELL  A  GRASS — TABLE  OF  GRASSES. 

As  before  stated,  it  is  deemed  necessary  to  speak  only  of 
those  grasses  indigenous  to  or  growing  in  Tennessee.  It  will 
be  endeavored  to  make  the  reader  well  acquainted  with  each 
species,  and  this  will  not  be  difficult  if  ordinary  attention 
is  paid  to  the  directions.  In  speaking  of  each  grass,  both 
the  common  name  and  the  botanic  will  be  given.  The  bo- 
tanic names  will  be  enclosed  in  brackets,  and  the  first  will 
denote  the  genus  and  the  second  the  species  to  which  the 
grass  belongs  ;  for  instance,  blue-grass  (Poa-pratensis),  here 
Poa  is  the  g.enus,  and  pratensis  the  species  to  which  it  be- 
longs. If  farmers  would  make  it  their  business  to  inspect 
and  classify  all  strange  grasses  that  may  fall  wider  their 
observation,  a  state  of  intelligent  inquiry  would  be  aroused 
that  would  greatly  redound  to  the  interest  of  agriculture. 
For  the  benefit  of  such,  a  table  is  hereby  appended,  so  that 
any  one  may  analyze  grasses  and  locate  them.  But  little 
practice  will  be  necessary  to  familiarize  the  student  with  the 
rules. 

Let  the  flowers  of  the  grass  be  first  examined.  If  but 
one  is  found  in  each  spikelet,  refer  to  No.  2,  the  left  hand 
column,  and  then  examine  and  see  if  they  are  arranged  in 
panicles  or  spikes  ;  if  the  former,  then  refer  to  No.  3  of  the 
left  hand  column,  and  see  whether  or  not  they  are  awned. 
If  awned,  refer  to  No.  4,  if  without  awns,  to  No.  12  of  the 
left  hand  column.  If  unawned,  and  having  two  glumes, 
refer  to  13,  and  so  on.  If  without  glumes  and  aquatic,  it 
is  a  Zizania  or  wild  rice.  If  in  the  first  examination  the 
spikelets  are  found  to  have  two  or  more  flowers,  refer  to  26 
of  the  left  hand  colnmn,  and  see  whether  the  inflorescence 
5 


66  THE     GRASSES 

is  in  panicles  or  spikes.  If  the  former,  refer  to  27  of  the 
left  hand  column.  If  the  latter,  in  spikes,  refer  to  39, 
and  then  see  whether  the  spikelets  are  two-rowed,  or  one- 
sided. If  the  latter,  refer  to  45,  and  see  whether  th*e 
spikes  are  digitate  and  the  spikelets  in  two  rows.  If  they 
are,  refer  it  to  the  genus  Eleusine. 

For  convenience  of  reference  a  glossary  is  attached  to  this 
work. 

ANALYTICAL  TABLE, 

1  Spikelet  with  but  one  flower 2 

1  Spikelet  with  two  or  more  flowers 26 

2  Flowers  arranged  in  panicles 3 

2  Flowers  in  spikes 16 

3  With  awns  or  beards 4 

I  Without  awns  pr  beards 12 

4  Glumes  large 5 

4  Glumes  minute,  unequal,    one  hardly  seen 11 

4  Glumes  none,  grass  aquatic 2  Zizania 

5  Without  abortive  rudiments 6 

5  With  an  abortive  rudiment  of  a  second  flower 52  Holcus 

6  Paleae  two 7 

6  Palese  three,  upper  awned,   flowers  polygamus 66  Sorghum 

7  Palese,  with  one  awn 8 

7  Lower  palese  with  three  twisted  awns 15  Aristida 

8  Palese  cartilaginous  or  gristly 9 

8  Palese  herbaceous 10 

8  Palese  membranaceous,  panicle  open 7  Agrostis 

8  Palese  membranaceous,  panicle  contracted 8  Polypogon 

9  Flowers  sessile  or  joined  to  stem  at  base 13  Oryzopsis 

9  Flowers  stipitate,  fruit  black 14  Stipa 

10  Flowers  naked,  with  one  stamen 9  Cinna 

10  Flowers  hairy,  stamens  three . . .'. 12  Calamagrostis 

11  Stamens  three 10  Muhlenbergia 

11  Stamens  two 11  Brachyelytrum 

12  Glumes  two 13 

12  Glumes  none,  leaves  rough  from  the  end  backwards 1  Leersia 

13  Palese  membranaceous 14 

13  Palese  leathery,  spikelets  all  cauline 56  Millium 

13  Palese  leathery,  fertile  spikelet  radical 67  Amphicarpon 

14  Fruit  coated  or  covered  with  a  husk 15 

H  Fruit  naked 6  Sporobolus 


OF   TENNESSEE.  67 

15  Flowers  stalked 7  Agrostis 

15  Flowers   sessile 5  Vilfa 

16  Flowers  awned , , 17 

16  Flowers  without  awns 22 

17  Spikes  solitary 18 

17  Spikes  many,  awnless,  unilateral,  paleae  cartilaginous.  ..59  Panicum 
17  Spikelets  two,   fertile 63  Erianthus 

17  Spikes  two,  polygamous,  sterile,  flowers  bearded 64  Andropogon 

18  Spikes  simple  or  nearly  so 19 

18  Spikes  paniculate,  or  lobed 21 

19  Involucre  none 20 

19  Involucre  of  two  or  more  bristles 60  Setaria 

1 9  In¥olucre  burr-like 61  Cenchrus 

20  Paleae  with  awns  one  to  three  times  their  length 3  Alopecurus 

20  Paiese  with  awns  five  times  their  length 44  Hordeum 

21  Both  glumes  and  paleae  awned 10  Muhlenbergia 

21  Glumes  awnless,  single  paleae  awned 54  Anthoxanthum 

21  Paleae.  two,  lateral  flowers  staminate, 53  Hierochloa 

22  Flowers  perfect  or  polygamous 23 

22  Spikes  monoecious 25 

23  Spikes  one-sided 24 

23  Spikes  cylindrical,  solitary  terminal 4  Phleum 

24  Spikes  two  or  more,  spikelets  suborbicular 5,8  Paspalum 

24  Spikes  digitate  or  verticillate,  linear 59  Panicum 

24  Spikes  pedunculate,  in  a  two-sided  panicle .16  Spartina 

24  Spikes  sessile,  in  a  one-sided  panicle 41  Lepturus 

25  Spikes  all  terminal,  sterile  above,  fertile  at  base 62  Tripsacum 

25  Fertile  spikes  lateral,  sterile  ones  terminal  panicled 66  Zea 

26  Inflorescence  in  panicles 27 

26  Inflorescence  in  spikes  39 

27  Flowers  awned 28 

27  Flowers  without  awns 33 

28  Lower  paleae  awned  on  the  back 29 

28  Lower  paleae  awned  on  the  apex  32 

29  Awn  near  the  base  of  the  paleae 30 

29  Awn  near  the  apex  of  the  paleae ". 31 

30  Apex  bifid,  awn  bent 50  Avena 

30  Apex  bifid,  awn  bent,  lower  flower  sterile 51  Arrhenatherum 

30  Apex  multifid 47  Aira 

31  Paleae  with  two  bristly  teeth 49  Trisetum 

31  Paleae  bifid 37  Bromus 

32  Lower  paleae  rounded,  obtuse 35  Briza 

32  Lower  paleae  entire,  pointed,  fruit  coated 36  Festuca 

82  Awn  between'  two  teeth,  twisted 48  Danthonia 


68  THE   GRASSES 

33  Terminal  flower  perfect 34. 

33  Terminal  flower  abo  tive,  or  a  mere  pedical 36 

34  Paleae  entire,  outer  one  mucronate . . 35 

34  Glumes  unequal,  like  the  lower  abortive  paleae  59  Panicum 

34  Glumes  equal,  longer  than  the  paleae 55  Phalaris 

34  Lower  paleae  truncate,  mucronate,  inner  bifid 38  Uniola 

34  Flowers  silky-bearded  on  the  rachis 39  Phragmites 

34  Spikelets  terete,  paleae  seven-nerved 31  Glyceria 

34  Spikelets  two  to  six,  five  nerved 33  Poa 

34  Spikelets  two  to  twenty,  three  nerved 34  Eragrostis 

34  Spikelets  flat,  lower  paleae  laterally  compressed 32  Bryzopyrum 

35  Scales  two,  styles  two 36  Festuca 

35  Scales  and  styles  three 40  Arunitinaria 

36  Panicle  contracted 37 

36  Panicle  large,  diif use 3o  Melic* 

37  Lower  palea  one-pointed  or  mucronate 38 

37  Lower  palea  pointless 29  Eatnnia 

37  Lower  palea  three-cleft 24  Tricuspis 

37  Lower  palea  awnless . , 25  Danthonia 

38  Stamens  three 28  Koehleria 

38  Stamens  two 26  Diarrhena 

39  Spikelets  two  ranked 37 

39  Spikelets  unilateral 43 

40  Glumes  broad 41 

40  Glumes  subulate 42 

40  Glumes  none „ 46  Gymnostichum 

41  Glumes  two,  in  the  upper  spikelet  only 42  ttolium 

41  Glumes  two,  in  each  spikelet 43  Triticum 

42  Glumes  collateral,  spikelets  in  twos  or  more ...  46  Elymus 

42  Glumes  opposite,  spikelets  solitary 45  Secale 

43  One  perfect  among  several  neutral  ones ." 17  Ctenium 

43  One  perfect  flower  below  several  neutral  ones 44 

43  Spikelets  conglomerate   or  paniculate 27  Dactylis 

43  Spikelets  with  more  than  one  perfect  flower 45 

44  Spik|lets  dense , 18  Bouteloua 

44  Spikes  filiform,  racemed 19  Gymnopogon 

44  Spikes  slender,  digitate 20  Cynodon 

45  Spikes  digitate,  glumes  and  palea  awnless,  blunt 22  Eleusine 

45  Spikes  racerned,  slender 23  Leptochloa 

The  grasses  which  we  purpose  to  describe  in  the  follow- 
ing pages,  are  named  in  the  following  list.  It  is  intended  to 


OF   TENNESSEE.  69 

make  the  article  on  each  grass  final,  as  to  that  species,  and 
then  a  few  observations  will  be  given  on  the  adaptability 
of  the  different  soils  to  each  genus  of  grasses.  The  list  is 
far  more  numerous  than  here  given.  The  others  are  confined 
either  to  the  sea  coast,  salt  marshes,  or  to  points  of  altitude 
far  higher  than  is  attained  by  any  lands  within  our  State 
boundaries : 


70 


THE   GRASSES 


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THE    GRASSES 


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THE   GRASSES   OP    TENNESSEE. 


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TIMOTHY.  75 


MEADOW  GRASSES. 


II. 


In  Part  II,  we  shall  treat  of  the  Meadow  Grasses,  in  the  order  named 
below : 

Timothy— Red-Top  or  Herds  Grassy-Tall  Red-Top  grass — Orchard 
grass — Wood  Meadow  grass — Rough-stalk  Meadow  grass — Willard's 
Brome  or  Chess — English  Rye  grass — Italian  Rye  grass — Many-flow- 
ered Darnell — Crab  or  Crop  grass — Millet — Hungarian  grass- — Barn 
grass — Bengal  grass — Gama  grass — Egyptian  grass — Meadow  Oat  grass  — 
Means,  Johnson  or  Egyptian  grass — Red  Clover— Alsike  or  Swedish 
Clover — Sapling  Clover — Crimson  Clover — Alfalfa  or  Lucerne — Japan 
Clover — Esparsette  or  Sainfoin — Vetch. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
TIMOTHY — HERDS  GRASS  OR  RED-TOP. 

TIMOTHY—  ( Phleum  Pratense). 

Spikes  cylindrical  or  elongated,  glumes  hairy  on  the  back,  tipped 
with  a  bristle  less  than  half  their  length  ;  leaves  long,  flat,  rough,  with 
long  sheaths ;  root  perennial,  on  moist  soils  fibrous,  on  dry  ones  bul- 
bous, mostly  bulbous. 

This  grass  is  known  in  New,  England  as  Herds  grass, 
from  a  Mr.  Herd,  who  found  it  growing  wild  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  introduced  it  into  cultivation.  Further  south, 


• » 


76  THE    GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

a 

however,  this  name  is  only  applied  to  Red-top,  or  Agroslis 
vulgaris. 

Mr.  Timothy  Hanson  carried  it  from  New  York  to  Caro- 
lina, and  from  him  it  is  known  as  timothy  grass. 

There  is  much  dispute  as  to  its  parent- 
age, some  claiming  it  as  indigenous  to 
the  United  States,  while  many  others, 
among  them  Dr.  Gray,  give  it  an  Euro- 
pean origin.  It  is  of  little  consequence 
where  it  sprang  from,  it  stands  confes- 
sedly at  the  head  of  all  meadow  grasses, 
not  only  in  the  amount  of  its  yield,  but 
in  its  superiority  as  a  nutritious  food  for 
stock.  It  is  eaten  with  more  avidity 
than  any  other  perennial  grass,  although 
it  has  a  very  coarse,  rough  stem,  and  less 
fodder  than  many  others. 

Its  leaves  are  abundant  near  the 
ground,  but  those  on  the  stalk  are  com- 
paratively few.  Like  most  other  mea- 
dow grasses  it  attains  its  greatest  value 
as  a  food  before  the  seeds  are  ripe.  The 
latter  are  very  abundant  and  highly  nu- 
tritious. From  ten  to  thirty  bushels  are 
made  on  good  land. 

It  ripens  late,  and  consequently  favors  the  farmer  very 
much,  as  he  is  able  to  save  his  wheat  before  cutting  and 
curing  his  hay.  It  was  a  common  custom  at  one  time  to 
sow  it  with  clover,  as  it  added  to  the  value  of  the  hay,  and 
irom  the  strength  of  its  tall  stems,  it  prevented  the  clover 
from  lodging,  but  the  fact  of  ripening  so  much  later  than 
clover,  causing  a  great  loss  from  shrinkage,  has  done 
away  with  this  practice,  especially  as  orchard  grass  is  so 
much  superior  in  that  respect.  Timothy  is  not  suitable  for 
pasturing,  having  scarcely  any  aftermath.  Besides,  the 


TIMOTHY.  77 

roots  are  easily  destroyed  if  the  stems  are  taken  off  be- 
low the  first  joint,  this  much  being  required  for  their  vital- 
ity. For  this  reason,  also  it  is  necessary  to  be  careful  to 
set  the  blade  of  the  mower  sufficiently  high  to  leave  the  first 
joint  intact.  As  has  been  stated,  the  roots  are  both  fibrous 
and  bulbous.  These  bulbs  have  but  few  rootlets  starting 
out  from  them,  the  plant  depending  for  its  support  princi- 
pally on  the  store  of  nourishment  laid  up  within  the  bulbs. 
If,  therefore,  the  stem  is  shaved  off  entirely,  the  bulbs? 
being  deprived  of  all  nourishment,  throw  out  tubers  all 
around,  and  these  send  up  shoots,  seeking  food  in  the  air, 
but  they  are  feeble,  and  if  spared  by  the  frosts  of  win- 
ter are  so  crippled  they  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  scorch- 
ing suns  of  summer.  For  the  same  reason  pasturing 
will  effectually  destroy  a  timothy  meadow  if  persisted 
in.  The  stock  will  bite  off  all  vegetation,  leaving  the 
roots  to  perish,  or  if  hogs  are  allowed  to  rim  on  it  they 
quickly  discover  and  destroy  the  succulent  bulbs.  When 
about  half  the  blossoms  turn  brown,  and  at  least  the  upper 
part  of  the  spike  or  head  is  still  purple,  a  yellowish  spot 
will  make  its  appearance  at  or  near  the  first  joint,  and 
this  is  the  true  indication  for  the  harvest  to  begin,  for  this 
spot  will  soon  extend  if  allowed  to  remain,  to  the  spike,  and 
the  whole  plant  will  be  a  stem  of  wood.  The  appearance 
of  this  spot  also  tells  of  the  maturity  of  the  bulbs,  and  they 
are  not  so  liable  to  injury  from  cutting  as  before.  If  this 
joint  is  left,  the  tubers  will  remain  green  and  fresh  during 
the  entire  winter ;  but  their  destruction  is  inevitable  if  it 
is  taken  away  at  any  time  during  the  year.  These  remarks 
do  not  apply  with  equal  force  to  timothy  when  it  has  a  fi- 
brous root,  but  the  two  kinds  are  so  intimately  mingled 
there  is  no  practical  difference. 

Timothy  stands  at  the  head  of  all  grasses  in  its  nutritive 
qualities.  A  specimen  taken  from  the  field  according  to 
the  above  directions,  yielded  on  analysis,  water  57.21,  flesh- 
forming  principle  4.86,  fat- forming  principles  1.50,  heat- 


78  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

producing  principles  22.85,  woody  fibre  11.82,  and  mineral 
matters  2.26,  in  one  hundred  parts.  (Way.)  A  compari- 
son of  its  relative  value  as  a  food  will  be  made  further 
on.  But  the  above  nutritious  specimen  will  never  be  pro- 
duced, if  the  plant  is  allowed  to  stand  too  long.  On  the  con- 
trary, as  a  food  it  would  become  woody  and  worthless,  all. 
its  starch,  sugar,  albuminoids,  and  other  nutritive  princi- 
ples having  been  deposited  in  the  seeds,  and  the  stalk  is 
nothing  more  than  a  woody  support. 

Cattle  fed  on  this  kind,  or  on  hay  that  has  been  allowed 
to  get  wet  and  ferment,  will  quickly  lose  their  flesh  and  the 
hair  become  rough. 

Timothy  is  exhaustive  to  the  soil,  and  being  a  heavy 
feeder,  requires  attention.  No  crop  can  be  raised  on  ground, 
that  will  not  extract  a  certain  amount  of  its  vitality,  but 
unless  something  is  taken  the  farmer  would  receive  nothing. 
Therefore,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  farmer  to  supply  by  ma- 
nures, the  deficiency  that  occurs.  And  this  is  made  the 
more  apparent  from  the  fact,  that,  the  man  who  applies  the 
most  manure  will  invariably  get  the  best  returns  for  his  labor. 
On  good,  rich  land,  bottom  is  best,  timothy  will  make  two 
tons  per  acre.  By  a  heavy  application  of  compost  or  manure 
from  the  barn-yard,  it  can  be  raised  to  five  tons,  and  the 
straw  lengthened  from  two  feet,  its  usual  height,  to  five  and 
even  six  feet,  and  from  the  same  cause,  the  heads  from  two 
inches  to  twelve  inches  in  length. 

It  is  a  great  and  sure  bearer  of  seeds,  but  the  seeds  are 
easily  destroyed  by  heat  in  the  mow,  unless  precautions  are 
used  in  caring  for  them.  In  fact,  so  many  adulterations, 
and  non-germinating  seeds  are  thrown  upon  the  market,  it 
would  be  well  for  each  farmer  to  save  his  own  seed,  by  de- 
voting a  certain  amount  of  ground  to  it.  Let  the  timothy 
get  fully  ripe,  and,  by  adjusting  the  mower,  save  as  little  stalk 
with  the  seeds  as  possible.  This  should  be«carefully  spread 
and  beat  out  as  soon  as  convenient,  and  it  is  easily  done. 

The  time  of  sowing  is  various.     If  sown  in  the  spring  it 


TIMOTHY.  79 

is  liable  to  be  killed  by  summer  heat,  and  if  sown  late  in 
autumn,  it  runs  the  same  risk  with  frost.  It  is,  therefore, 
bad  policy  to  run  the  risk  of  not  only  losing  the  cost  of  seed 
but  also  the  labor  of  preparing  the  ground.  Much  must 
be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  farmer  in  selecting  a  suitable 
day,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  it  should  always  be  sown  in 
the  fall,  early  enough  to  get  a  root  strong  enough  to  resist 
winter  killing.  If  sown  in  a  very  dry  soil  it  will  incur  the 
further  danger  of  germinating  from  dews,  and  of  being  killed 
by  the  sun.  Select  the  time  when  the  ground  is  moist  and 
the  days  not  excessively  hot.  The  quantity  of  seed  per  acre 
is  various,  but  the  sower  who  spares  his  seed  will  reap  in 
proportion.  Not  less  than  12  pounds  if  mixed,  and  if  alone 
at  least  three  gallons  of  clean  seed  will  be  required  to  se- 
cure a  good  stand.  But  it  will  be  better  to  test  the  seeds 
beforehand,  for  a  failure  from  bad  seeds  will  cause  a  year's 
delay. 

Timothy  does  best  on  rich,  alluvial,  moist  land.  But  any 
rich  land,  whether  upland  or  lowland,  will  produce  it,  if 
proper  attention  is  given.  Wherever  calcareous  loam  exists 
it  can  be  profitably  put  to  timothy.  It  will  not  grow  to  any 
extent  at  a  greater  elevation  than  4,000  feet  above  the  sea, 
but  on  any  less  height  there  is  no  grass  capable  of  greater 
diffusion.  In  order  to  secure  a  stand  of  timothy,  the  follow- 
ing simple  rules  may  be  adopted : 

1.  Be  sure  of  your  seed  by -testing  them  before  sowing. 

2.  Put  plenty  of  seed  on  the  ground  ;  if  too  thin,  it  will 
require  time  to  turf  over,  if  too  thick,  it  will  quickly  ad- 
just itself. 

3.  Sow  early  enough  to  enable  the  seed  to  get  a  foothold 
before  winter  sets  in.    Ljybe  fall  and  winter  sowings  are  always 
precarious.     September  is  best  if  there  is  no  drought,  other- 
wise wait  for  a  "season." 

4.  Unlike  other  grasses,  timothy  will  not  admit  of  pas- 
turage.    The  nipping  of  stock  will  destroy  the  tubers. 


80  THE  GRASSES  OF  TENNESSEE. 

5.  NEVER  CUT  THE  SWARD   BELOW  THE  FIRST  JOINT. 

6.  Be  sure  to  have  the  ground  well  pulverized. 

It  is  necessary  to  impress  one  idea  that  has  already  been 
stated.  Do  not  allow  the  timothy  to  stand  longer  than 
the  time  that  the  yellow  spot  appears  near  the  first  joint, 
as  it  will  from  that  time  ripen  very  rapidly,  and  be  worth- 
less. General  Harding,  before  the  Farmers'  Club,  called 
attention  to  the  fact,  that,  the  greatest  enemy  of  tim- 
othy is  blue-grass.  If  stock  is  allowed  to  pass  from  a 
blue-grass  pasture,  at  will,  to  a  meadow  of  timothy,  they 
will  quickly  sow  the  meadow  in  blue-grass,  and  the  latter 
will,  in  a  short  time,  supersede  the  former.  In  the  meet- 
ing above  alluded  to,  timothy  being  the  subject  of  discus- 
sion, Gen.  Harding  being  called  on  for  his  views,  said 
"he  had  had  considerable  experience  with  timothy.  He 
regarded  timothy  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  grasses  for 
hay,  and  more  especially  for  hay  that  must  be  handled  or 
shipped  or  baled.  He  had  tried  several  varieties.  Many 
years  ago  timothy  was  a  grass  of  which  it  was  a  very  easy 
thing  to  secure  a  stand,  and  also  a  considerable  amount  of 
grass,  and  the  meadow  lasted  for  many  years.  He  used  to 
have  meadows  twenty,  and  even  thirty  years  of  age,  but 
were,  even  at  that  age,  good,  productive  meadows.  Timo- 
thy was  introduced  into  this  country  before  blue-grass."  The 
General  remarked,  he  considered  blue-grase  a  great  enemy 
of  timothy  meadows.  Before  the  introduction  of  blue- 
grass,  our  timothy  meadows  lasted  almost  without  limit, 
and  produced  year  after  year,  for  twenty  or  thirty  years. 
"But  since  we  have  been  growing  blue-grass  more  extensively, 
it  gets  into  our  timothy  meadows  in  a  few  years  and  will 
root  out  the  timothy ;  so  now,  in  buying  my  timothy  seed, 
I  look  more  carefully  for  blue-gra&s  seed  than  for  the  seed 
of  any  noxious  weeds.  I  would  rather  sow  dock — I 
would  rather  sow  anything  in  my  timothy  than  blue- 
grass.  Still  I  value  blue-grass  in  its  place,  as  the 
first  of  grasses,  yet  it  causes  more  trouble  in  our  mea- 


TIMOTHY.  81 

dows  than  anything  else.  Again,  our  seasons  have  be- 
come dryer,  and  there  is  much  greater  difficulty  in  getting  a 
stand  of  timothy  than  formerly.  When  I  commenced  sow- 
ing meadows,  I  had  no  trouble  in  getting  a  stand  of  tim- 
othy, whether  I  sowed  the  seed  in  the  fall  or  in  the  spring, 
whether  I  sowed  in  the  fall  with  wheat  or  barley,  or  in  the 
spring  with  my  oats.  For  many  years  I  never  failed.  Now 
I  sow  in  the  fall,  and  the  timothy  is  frequently  winter- 
killed ;  I  sow  in  the  spring,  and  it  is  killed  by  the  long 
droughts  of  summer,  but  these  difficulties  should  not  deter 
us.  We  should  continue  to  sow,  and  persevere  until  we  get 
a  stand.  Hence,  if  I  sow  in  the  fall  and  my  timothy  is 
killed,  I  sow  in  the  spring,  if  it  is  then  killed,  I  sow  again 
and  again,  until  I  succeed.  I  have  never  given  up,  and 
have  never  entirely  failed,  after  repeated  efforts.  My  sow- 
ing last  spring  was  very  fortunate;  I  have  a  very  fine  and 
promising  young  meadow  now,  of  one  hundred  acres,  that  I 
sowed  last  spring  a  year  ago.  I  am  satisfied,  however,  that 
under  the  changed  state  of  our  climate,  we  must  sow  more 
seed  than  we  have  been  in  the  habit  of  sowing.  I  got  a 
good  stand  of  timothy  many  years  ago  with  a  gallon  of  seed 
to  the  acre,  now  I  would  recommend  not  less  than  one  and 
a  half  gallons,  or  even  a  peck  of  seecl  to  the  acre.  Again, 
the  better  the  stand  you  get,  the  thicker  your  grass  comes 
up  the  more  will  it  keep  out  the  weeds.  The  white  blossom, 
like  the  blue-grass,  has  also  increased  largely,  and  seems  to 
be  yet  increasing.  That  is  a  troublesome  weed  for  our  mea- 
dows. Still  that  is  not  as  pernicious  as  it  seems  to  the  inex- 
perienced. True,  you  cannot  sell  white  blossom  in  the  mar- 
ket, but  if  you  expect  to  consume  the  hay  at  home,  and 
make  your  timothy  with  a  large  amount  of  white  blossom 
in  it,  you  will  find  you  will  have  good  hay.  Stock  will  eat 
it,  and  readily ;  mules  and  cattle  seeming  to  do  almost  as 
well  upon  it  as  upon  the  timothy  alone." 

"I  know  that  some  differ  from  me  in  considering  the  white 
blossom  as  troublesome  as  any  other  plant,  and  throw  it 
6 


82  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

away.  I  have  some  hands  to  run  along  the  windrow  and 
pick  out  the  white  blossoms,  and  make  hay  of  the  white 
blossoms  alone  ;  it  pays  very  well  for  the  labor  of  separat- 
ing it.  I  would  rather  not  have  to  do  it,  for  all  the  labor 
is  needed  at  that  season  of  the  year ;  but  I  will  not  throw 
the  white  blossoms  away,  for  it  is  valuable.  I  stack  it  in 
my  pastures,  and  let  the  cattle  go  to  it  at  will  during  the 
winter.  I  also  stack  my  straw,  and  that  helps  the  cattle." 

"  Sometimes  there  is  also  a  fine  growth  of  crab  grass,  and 
gome  fox-tail  and  rag  weed.  I  rake  this^up ;  you  cannot 
sell  it  in  the  market,  but  it  largely  pays  for  the  labor  of 
saving  it.  I  have  this  winter  kept  a  large  number  of  steers 
that  I  expect  to  bring  into  the  market  next  spring,  and  they 
have  had  nothing  else  but  straw,  and  this  kind  of  weed.  I 
sprinkle  a  little  salt  on  the  stack,  and  the  stock  eat  it  and 
do  well  on  it.  I  have  no  doubt  but  they  would  do  better 
on  the  better  hay,  but  I  cannot  afford  to  feed  beef-cattle  on 
first-class  hay,  worth  one  dollar  per  hundred  pounds  in  the 
market,  while  I  can  save  that  which  is  not  worth  one  cent 
in  the  market  and  feed  it  to  them." 

"It  is  valuable  in  another  respect.  It  comes  on  at  the  con- 
clusion of  your  harvest,  and  after  corn  is  laid  by.  The 
clover  comes  on  at  the  busiest  season  of  the  year,  and  hence 
I  prefer  the  timothy." 

"Now,  what  is  the  proper  time  to  cut  timothy  ?  Some 
would  say  as  soon  as  it  blooms ;  others  would  say,  after  it 
has  bloomed  and  the  bloom  has  fallen.  If  I  could  cut  it 
all  on  the  day  I  thought  it  would  make  the  best  hay,  I 
would  cut  it  just  about  the  time  it  has  lost  the  largest  por- 
tion of  its  bloom.  If  you  cut  it  too  green — like  green  fod- 
der— the  stalk  will  shrivel,  and  after  being  cured,  the  stalk 
will  break  short,  but  if  allowed  to  get  a  little  riper  the  stalk 
will  bend." 

"How  much  sun  should  it  have  ?  That  is  a  question  that 
can  only  be  determined  by  experience.  The  proper  time  to 
put  it  up  is  when  it  has  had  as  little  sun  as  possible,  so  you 


TIMOTHY.  83 

are  assured  it  will  not  mould.  If  there  is  too  much 
moisture  in  it,  it  will  mould,  and  thereby  injure  the  hay. 
If  the  weather  is  settled,  it  will  cure  better  in  cocks,  but 
all  these  things  must  be  governed  by  circumstances." 

"The  best  time  to  cut  hay  is  just  after  the  bloom  stops.  I 
think  timothy  pays  best  sowed  alone.  It  can  be  cured  bet- 
ter in  cocks,  but  sometimes  in  bad  weather  it  will  not  do  to 
risk  it  in  cocks.  I  pasture  my  timothy  meadows,  but  it 
assists  in  introducing  blue-grass.  I  would  prefer  to  sow  in 
the  fall,  as  early  in  September  as  possible.  I  have  tried 
plaster  on  timothy,  but  do  not  know  that  I  have  derived 
any  benefit  from  it.  The  best  blue-grass  land  is  the  best 
for  timothy,  and  I  would  prefer  it  to  be  rich  limestone 
loam." 

It  is  highly  probable  one  cause  of  the  General's  meadows 
failing  in  six  or  seven  years,  is  the  fact,  he  admits,  of  pas- 
turing them,  It  is  a  well  ascertained  fact,  that  timothy 
will  not  bear  pasturing,  and  attention  to  this  and  leaving 
the  first  joint  uncut  will  most  probably  make  our  meadows 
again  live  twenty  or  thirty  years. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Stock  Breeders'  Association,  in 
February,  1878,  Gen.  W.  H.  Jackson,  who  is  farming  with 
Gen.  Harding,  said  tkat  they  found  the  best  forerunner  of 
timothy  to  be  Hungarian  grass.  If  this  is  sown  in  the 
summer  and  harvested  in  August  or  September,  and  timothy 
sown  upon  the  stubble  and  harrowed  in,  the  very  best  stand 
could  be  obtained.  The  Hungarian  grass  destroys  all 
noxious  weeds,  and  gives  a  certain  degree  of  compactness  to 
the  soil  necessary  to  secure  a  good  stand  of  timothy. 

The  porosity  of  the  soils  of  the  Central  Basin  makes 
this,  or  rolling  of  the  land,  essential  conditions  of  success. 
On  the  clayey  lands  of  the  valley  of  East  Tennessee  or  the 
Bimlands,  there  is  no  more  difficulty  in  securing  a  stand  of 
timothy  than  of  herds  grass  or  clover.  I  have  seen  as  much 
as  three  tons  of  timothy  hay  cut  from  a  bottom  field  on  Bed 
river  in  Montgomery  county,  nine  months  after  seeding. 


84 


THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


BED-TOP—HERDS  GRASS— (Agrostis  vulgaris.) 

Erect  steins,  slender,  smooth,  polished,  round;  roots  creeping,  pan- 
icle oblong,  leaves  linear,  ligule  very  short,  lower  palese  mostly  awnless, 
and  stein  nerved.  Flowers  in  July. 

It  was  introduced  from  England,  where  it  was  known  as 
Bent  grass.  When  first  cultivated  it  went  by  the  name  of 
English  grass.  There  are  many  species  now  raised  in 
England,  which  are  still  known  as  Fine  Bent.  It  is  scattered 
over  the  whole  State  and  but  few  old  pastures  are  free  from 
it,  but  there  it  is  so  dwarfed  by  close  grazing  and  treading 
that  it  shows  to  but  little  advantage.  It  is  commonly 
called  in  these  situations  fine-top. 

Next  in  importance  to  timothy  as  a  meadow  grass  stands 
Herds  grass.  Unlike  the  former,  it  also  makes  a  good 
grazing  grass — in  fact  grazing  is  necessary  to  its  preserva- 
tion, as,  if  allowed  to  go  to  seed  a  few  years,  it  dies  out.  It 
loves  a  moist  soil,  and  on  swampy  places  that  will  grow 
scarcely  anything  else,  herds  grass  will  thrive  wonderfully. 
It  is  the  most  permanent  grass  we  have, 
and  by  means  of  its  long,  creeping  roots, 
will  even,  if  sown  too  thin,  quickly 
take  possession  of  the  ground.  It  is 
greedily  eaten,  while  young  and  tender,  in 
the  spring  by  all  kinds  of  stock,  and  affords 
a  fine  nourishing  hay,  though  in  less  quantity 
per  acre  than  timothy.  It  grows  from  two 
to  three  feet  high,  and  with  its  purplish 
panicles,  when  in  full  bloom,  presents  a 
most  charming  sight  in  its  soft  feathery  un- 
dulations. 

It  is  oftener  mixed  with  other  grasses  than  sown  alone, 
especially  with  timothy  and  clover.  But  it  fails  to  come 
into  harvest  as  early  as  clover,  and  the  same  objections  may 
be  urged  against  it  that  are  to  timothy.  It  yields,  on  moist 
bottom  land,  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  tons  per  acre,  but 
on  uplands  it  is  not  a  good  producer.  On  thin  lands  it  will 


RED-TOP.  85 

not  gain  a  sufficient  height  to  justify  harvesting  at  all.  It 
withstands  the  effects  of  drought  much  better  than  timothy. 
In  England  it  is  supposed  to  grow  best  on  sandy  soils. 
Such  soils  suit  it  in  West  Tennessee.  Its  effects  when 
fed  to  milk  cows  are  to  greatly  enrich  and  yellow  the  butter, 
and  European  dairymen  think  they  cannot  do  without  it  in 
their  pastures.  By  the  Woburn  experiments  at  the  time  of 
flowering,  it  yielded  10,209  pounds  of  grass,  which  lost  in 
drying  5,615  pounds,  and  furnished  532  pounds  of  nutritive 
matter.  Cut  when  the  seeds  were  ripe,  it  yielded  9528 
Ibs.  of  grass,  which  lost  exactly  half  its  weight  in  drying  and 
afforded  only  251  Ibs.  of  nutritious  matter.  From  this  it  would 
appear  that  this  grass  is  doubly  as  valuable  for  feeding  pur- 
poses when  cut  at  the  time  of  flowering.  A  writer  in  the 
Rural  Sun,  under  date  of  February  18,  1878,  institutes  a 
comparison  between  the  value  of  this  grass  and  timothy. 

"The  experience  of  Mr.  Smith,  that  timothy  lasts  but  a  few 
years,  while  red-top  remains  permanently,  corresponds  with 
the  general  experience  of  the  country,  viz :  that  timothy 
lasts  about  three  years  and  red-top  until  it  is  replowed. 
While  the  yield  per  acre  on  our  best  lands  would  not  be  so 
much  as  timothy,  yet  our  poorer  soils  which  will  not  pro- 
duce timothy,  will  bring  fair  crops  of  red-top.  Timothy, 
having  bulbous  roots,  is  subject  to  be  killed.by  being  closely 
cut  in  hot,  dry  weather,  and  is  not  fit  for  pasturage,  because 
the  bulbs  where  bitten  or  bruised  by  being  trod  upon,  die, 
and  it  is  also  likely  to  form  tussocks.  Herds  grass,  on  the 
contrary,  lias  fibrous  roots,  occupies  the  entire  surface,  makes 
a  sod  and  bears  close  pasturage.  Sown  with  clover,  it  will 
occupy  the  soil  by  the  time  the  clover  dies  out.  Herds 
grass  seeds|are  now  very  cheap,  and  half  a  bushel  of  Herds 
grass  seed  sown  to  the  acre  with  the  clover  sown  in  the  spring, 
would  pay  well  for  the  small  expenditure.  There  are 
425,000  seeds  in  an  ounce  of  Herds  grass  seed,  and  this 
small  amount  evenly  distributed  over  an  acre  would  give 
about  nine  and  three-fourth  seeds  to  each  square  foot,  while 


86  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

the  amount  recommended,  say  one-half  bushel  of  six  pounds, 
would  give,  say  936  seeds  to  the  square  foot,  or  six  and  a 
half  seeds  to  the  square  inch." 

For  stopping  gullies  in  old  fields  it  is  superior  to  blue 
grass,  as  it  will  throw  its  long,  searching  roots  from  the  top 
down  the  sloping  banks  of  the  washes,  and  fasten  to  every 
patch  of  good  soil  at  the  bottom,  and  then  from  every  joint 
starts  up  a  stalk  to  get  a  fresh  hold.  It  affords  a  very 
good  aftermath  from  which,  in  wet  falls,  a  fair  crop  may  be 
cut.  Unless  well  tramped  in  the  late  fall  it  is  liable  to 
form  tufts  that  rise  out  of  the  soil  from  the  effects  of 
freezing,  and  are  destroyed.  Therefore,  after  cutting,  let 
on  the  stock  and  their  feet  will  insure  a  good  turf,  and 
besides,  will  destroy  weeds.  But  the  cattle  should  be  taken 
off  the  pasture  after  rains  have  filled  the  earth  with  water,  or 
it  will  become  too  rough  for  the  proper  use  of  the  mower. 

The  quantity  of  seed  per  acre,  when  sown  alone,  is  about 
half  a  bushel.  The  seed  is  usually  sold  in  the  chaff,  it 
being  difficult  to  separate  it.  Wh$n  badly  cleaned  a  bushel 
per  acre  will  not  be  too  much. 

The  time  for  harvesting  is  when  it  is  in  full  flower,  or  as 
soon  thereafter  as  possible,  when  all  the  elements  that  are 
.  necessary  to  form  the  seeds  are  still  in  the  stalk  and  leaves. 
Left  to  ripen  fully,  it  becomes  woody  and  innutritions. 

Many  pursue  the  plan  of  mixing  the  timothy  and  Herds 
grass  together,  as  they  ripen  together,  and  the  Herds  grass 
being  much  lower  than  the  former  fills  in  well,  and  the  two 
will  make  a  more  abundant  yield  than  either  separate.  But 
one  requires  pasturage  and  that  will  destroy  the  other. 

It  should  be  sown  in  September,  unless  sown  on  wheat, 
and  then  as  early  as  practicable,  to  enable  the  roots  to  get 
sufficient  depth  to  resist  the  cold  of  winter.  If  sown  alone 
it  will,  like  timothy,  make  about  a  half  crop  the  ensu- 
ing year.  But  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  induce  our  Ten- 
nessee farmers  to  forego  a  crop  of  something  every  year, 
consequently  it  is  usually  sown  over  a  grain  field,  either 


RED-TOP.  87 

wheat,  rye  or  barley.  There  are  a  great  many  marshy  spots 
in  Tennessee,  especially  on  the  Tennessee  and  Mississippi 
rivers,  so  full  of  water  that  nothing  can  be  culti- 
vated on  them,  and  on  these  fine  crops  of  Herds  grass 
could  be  secured  every  year,  which  would  certainly  be  far 
preferable  to  allowing  them  to  run  to  waste.  These  bot- 
toms are  usually  of  surprising  fertility,  and  would  go  far  to 
supply,  the  great  deficiency  of  hay  and  obviate  the  necessity 
of  importing  from  our  more  thrifty  northern  neighbors.  . 
It  is  a  perennial,  and  if  properly  tramped  every  autumn 
will  keep  good  an  indefinite  length  of  time. 

This  grass  also  finds  a  most  congenial  soil  throughout 
West  Tennessee,  in  many  places  in  that  division  of  th« 
State  attaining  the  height  of  five  feet.  It  is  probably  bet- 
ter adapted  to  all  the  soils  of  the  State  than  any  other 
grass.  I  have  seen  it  growing  in  princely  luxuriance  6000 
feet  above  the  sea  on  the  bald  places  of  the  Uii'aka  Moun- 
tains. It  flourishes  upon  the  slopes  and  in  the  valleys  of 
East  Tennessee.  It  yields  abundantly  upon  the  sandstone 
soils  of  the  Cumberland  Table-land,  and  beautifies  th< 
rolling  surfaces  of  the  Highland  Rim.  In  the  Central 
Basin  it  sparkles  in  the  beauty  of  its  verdure,  and  is 
second  only  to  red  clover  and  timothy  as  a  meadow  grass. 
No  other  grass  is  sown  so  much  for  hay  upon  the  lands 
lying  at  the  western  base  of  the  Cumberland  Table-land. 
In  Warren  county  especially  it  is  highly  esteemed  for  its 
longevity  and  fruitfulness.  In  reply  to  a  communication 
addressed  to  him  in  regard  to  this  grass,  Mr.  P.  H.  Maj- 
bury  writes  as  follows: 

(!)AKHAM,  WARREN  COUNTY,  TENN.  / 
January,  26,  1878.      J 

J.  B.  Killebrew,  Esq.,  Nashville,  Tennessee: 

You  ask  what  soils  suit  best  for  Herds  grass  and  the  best  time  for 
sowing. 

It  grows  well  on  clay  soils,  in  the  damp,  marshy  swamp  lands,  as 
well  as  on  the  highest  elevations ;  will  grow  in  sandy  lands,*but  the  land 
should  be  well  packed  by  rolling  or  treading  of  stock. 


88  THE    GRASSES     OF    TENNESSEE. 

It  should  be  sown  the  last  of  September  or  first  of  October — any  time 
after  the  equinoctial  rains  to  the  15th  of  October.  It  is  better  to  be 
sown  alone,  but  will  do  very  well  sown  with  wheat.  When  sown  in 
the  spring  it  is  usualL  overrun  with  weeds. 

As  a  meadow  or  grazing  grass  it  is  very  valuable.  It  yields  on 
good  soil  from  a  ton  to  one  and  one-half  tons  of  superior  hay,  the 
stems  and  blades  much  fewer  and  somewhat  softer  than  timothy.  I 
prefer  it  to  timothy — my  stock  prefer  it. 

For  grazing  it  is  very  valuable.  Upon  land  where  limestone  is  ab- 
sent it  flourishes,  has  greater  tenacity  of  life,  makes  a  sod  almost  im- 
pervious to  hoof  and  tooth — in  fact  it  is  the  blue  grass  of  the  mountain 
district.  We  have  but  little  lime  in  our  soils  and  therefore  blue  grass 
does  not  grow  well.  For  a  meadow  I  prepare  the  soil  well  with  plow 
and  harrow  and  sow  one  bushel  of  clean  seed  per  acre,  one-half  one 
way  and  then  sow  the  other  half  across  the  first  so  as  to  avoid  leaving 
spaces  unoccupied.  A  light  brush  maybe  dragged  over  it  or  not,  as  ig 
preferred.  I  prefer  to  leave  it  without  brush  or  roller.  The  roller  ig 
the  best ;  in  fact  for  a  meadow  it  prepares  the  surface  well  for  the 
mower  or  sythe.  If  sown  by  the  first  of  October,  alone,  a  crop  of  hay 
the  next  season  may  be  cut  perhaps  equal  to  any  it  will  ever  after- 
ward yield,  and  worth  more  than  a  crop  of  wheat  o^  corn. 

The  time  to  cut  for  hay  is  just  before  the  seeds  ripen,  but  if  seeds  are 
desired  let  them  ripen,  and  if  cut  immediately  will  still  make  fine  hay. 
For  pastures  I  would  advise  a  mixture  of  orchard  grass  with  it.  Orchard 
grass  grows  well  in  the  same  soil  with  Herds  grass. 

I  am  gratified  that  you  are  giving  to  the  country  so  much  general  in- 
formation upon  the  subject  of  agriculture.  It  is  yet  possible  to  reno- 
vate our  exhausted  soils,  and  restore  prosperity  to  our  country  again. 
Our  soils  and  our  mines  are  our  wealth,  but  our  people  must  be  taught 
to  understand  the  value  of  manures,  the  rotation  of  crops  and  the  breed- 
ing and  feeding  of  domestic  animals. 
TALL  RED-TOP— (Tricuspis  seskrioides.) 

Spikelets,  three  to  twelve  flowers,  glumes  unequal,  rachis  of  the 
spike  bearded  below  each  flower,  lower  palea  much  longer  than  the 
upper,  convex,  hairy  on  the  back,  three  nerved  and  three  pointed  by 
projection  of  the  nerve,  stamens  three,  stigmas  dark  purple. 

The  Tricuspis,  three  pointed,  is  a  meadow  grass  and 
thrives  best  on  sandy  soils  or  old  fields.  When  in  full 
bloom  it  makes  a  good  show  but  does  not  yield  a  sufficiently 
large  crop  to  justify  sowing  in  preference  to  several 
others.  It  is  said  to  be  harsh  and  wiry.. 


ORCHARD  GRASS.  89 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ORCHARD  GRASS — WOOD  MEADOW  GRASS — ROUGH  STALK 
MEADOW — CHESS  OR  CHEAT — ITALIAN  RYE  GRASS — 
MANY  FLOWERED  DARNEL — CRAB  GRASS. 

ORCHARD  GRASS— (Dactylis  Glomerate.} 

With  broadly  linear,  rather  rough,  pale  and  keeled  leaves  and  a 
dense  panicle  of  one-sided  clusters,  on  which  the  spikelets  are  much 
crowded,  each  three  to  four  flowered,  both  the  glumes  and  the  lat- 
erally compressed-keeled  [lower  palet  tapering  into  a  short  awn, 
rough-ciliate  on  the  keel.  Flowers  in  early  summer.  (Gray). 

Whether  a  native  of  America  or 
Europe,  or  indigenous  to  bqth  coun- 
tries, it  is  well  known  that  Orchard 
grass  is  diffused  more  extensively  than 
almost  any  other  grass,  growing  all 
over  Europe,  the  northwestern  parts  of 
Africa,  and  in  Asia  Minor.  Known 
as  Cock's  foot  in  England  for  many 
centuries,  it  was  not  appreciated  as  a 
forage  plant  until  sent  to  that  coun- 
try from  Virginia.  It  is  a  perennial, 
and  grows  upon  congenial  soils  any 
where  between  35  and  47  degrees  north 
latitude.  It  likes  a  soil  moderately 
dry,  porous,  fertile  and  inclined  to  be  sandy.  On  stiff,  clay 
soils,  retentive  of  moisture,  the  roots  do  not  acquire  such  a 
vigor  as  to  give  a  luxuriant  top  growth.  The  feeble- 
ness of  the  roots  upon  such  a  soil  makes  them  liable 
to  be  thrown  up  by  the  earth.  It  may  be  grown  successfully 
on  a  lean,  sterile  sort,  by  a  top  dressing  of  stable  manure, 
yielding  during  a  moderately  wet  season  from  two  to  three 
crops.  In  its  rapid  growth  in  early  spring  lies  one  of  its 
chief  merits,  furnishing  a  rich  bite  for  cattle  earlier  than 
almost  any  other  grass.  It  also  grows  later  in  the  fall.  It 


90  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE.  / 

is  very  hardy  when  well  set,  makes  a  great  yield/ grows 
rapidly  and  vigorously  upon  suitable  soils,  supplies  a  rich, 
nutritious  hay,  which,  compared  with  timothy,  is  in  value 
in  the  proportion  of  7  to  10.  It  starts  out  early  in  spring, 
and  comes  into  blossom  about  the  time  of  red  clover.  It 
attains  a  height,  upon  good  soils,  of  three  feet,  though  upon 
soils  of  great  fertilitv  it  sometimes  reaches  the  height  of 
five  feet.  After  being  cut,  it  springs  up  rapidly,  sometimes 
in  rainy  weather  growing  three  or  four  inches  within  a 
week.  This  quality  of  rapid  growth  unfits  it  for  a  lawn 
grass  unless  cut  every  week. 

Nevertheless  this  very  quality  makes  it  stand  unrivalled 
as  a  pasture  grass.  The  Hon.  John  Stanton  Gould  says  in 
his  essay  upon  this  grass :  "  The  laceration  produced  by 
the  teetfi  of  cattle  instead  of  injuring,  actually  stimulates 
it  to  throw  out  additional  leaves,  yielding  the  tenderest  and 
sweetest  herbage." 

The  chief  objection  to  Orchard  gKass  is  that  it  grows  too 
much  in  stools  or  tussocks^  This  can  l.<e  remedied  by  sow- 
ifag  a  larger  quantity  of  seed  per  acre.  Never  less  than  two 
bushels  (14  pounde  to  the  bushel)  per  acre  should  be  sown, 
and  two  and  a  half  bushels  would  even  be  preferable.  Mr. 
Gould  says  that  if  the  meadows  are  dragged  over  in  spring 
with  a  fine  toothed  harrow,  and  then  rolled,  this  disposition 
will  be  completely  overcome.  The  disposition  to  stool  can 
also  be  checked  by  sowing  with,  other  grasses.  A  half  gal- 
lon of  clover  seed,  one  gallon  of  herds  grass,  and  two  bush- 
els of  Orchard  grass,per  acre,  sown  about  the  25th  of  March, 
in  our  la'titude,  will  make  an  excellent  pasture.  By  the 
middle  of  June,  upon  good  soils,  the  amount  of  forage  will 
equal  the  best  fields  of  clover.  It  should  not,  however,  be 
pastured  the  first  season  until  August,  however  tempting  it 
may  be.  In  this  many  Tennessee  farmers  have  made  a  mis- 
take. By  pasturing  before  the  roots  are  well  established 
much  of  the  grass  is  pulled  up  and  destroyed.  I  have  met 
with  many  farmers  who  condemned  the  Orchard  grass  for 


OECHAEI)   GEASS.  91 

want  of  hardiness  and  endurance,  but  in  every  case  the  fault 
was  with  the  farmer  himself  in  pasturing  too  early. 

Orchard  grass  grows  well  in  the  shade,  and  hence  its 
name.  It  withstands  hot,  dry  weather  better  than  any 
other  valuable  grass.  Three  good  crops  of  leafy  hay,  if 
the  weather  is  seasonable,  may  be  counted  on  after  the  first 
year,  but  only  one  will  blossom.  , 

The  analysis  Prof.  Way  of  the  green  grass  in  blossom  by 
gives  the  following  result : 

Per  cent. 

Water 70. 

Fatty  matter 0. 94 

Flesh  formers 4.08 

Heat  producers 13. 30 

Woody  fibre 10.11 

Ash 1.59 

Analysis  by  Scheven  and  Ritthausan  gives  : 

Water 65.00 

Fat 80 

Flesh  formers 3.00 

Heat  producers 12. 60 

Woody  fibre ..,.,», 16.10 

Ash 2.40 

The  Woburn  experiments  developed  some  interesting 
facts  pertaining  to  this  grass.  Grown  upon  a  rich,  sandy 
loam,  and  cut  the  middle  of  April,  the  green  grass  weighed 
10,209  pounds  per  acife,  in  which  there  were  1,190  pounds 
of  nutritious  matter.  Cut,  when  in  full  bloorm,  the  green 
produce  weighed  27,905J  pounds.  This  lost  T^L  dessication 
16,045  pounds,  or  a  little  more  than  half,  and  furnished 
1,089  pounds  of  nutritious  matter.  After  the  seeds  were 
fully  ripe,  the  green  produce  weighed  less  by  1,361  pounds 
per  acre,  but  there  were  1,415  more  pounds  of  dry  hay, 
with  an  excess  also  of  nutritive  extract  of  363  pounds.  The 
aftermath,  however,  was  not  so  good,  and  in  the  loss  of 
this  the  advantage  of  an  increased  yield  of  hay  was  coun- 
terbalanced. 

The  hay  made  of  orchard  grass,  as  analyzed  by  Wolff 
and  Knop,  gives : 


92  THE   GRASSES     OF    TENNESSEE. 

Water ,      14  3 

Organic  matter ?     81. 1 

Ash 4.6 

Albuminoids 11. 6 

Carbohydrates 40.7 

Crude  fibre 28.9 

/Fat 2.7 

The  albuminoids  are  the  nitrogenous  compounds  or  flesh- 
formers;  the  carbohydrates  are  the  non-nitrogenous  com- 
pounds, and  includes  the  fat,  starch,  sugar,  pectin,  etc.  Mr. 
Sinclair,  by  a  series  of  experiments  carefully  conducted, 
demonstrated  that  Orchard  grass,  more  than  any  other  grass, 
when  young,  yields  the  greatest  amount  of  nutrition. 

It  is  of  great  importance  that  the  seed  from  hardy  plants 
be  sown.  In  no  department  of  agriculture  does  the  old 
maxim  "  like  produces  like  "  obtain  in  a  greater  degree  than 
in  this  grass.  Seed  from  weakly,  sickly  plants  will  pro- 
duce the  same  kind  of  offspring,  however  fertile  the  soil 
may  be.  Messrs.  Lawson  and  Son,  by  selecting  the  best 
seed,  and  sowing  for  several  years -none  but  the  best  of  each 
generation,  established  a  new  variety  of  Orchard  grass, 
known  by  its  great  size  and  vigor  as  the  Giant  Cock's  foot. 
Let  farmers  be  careful,  therefore,  in  saving  seed  to  sow  from 
the  most  vigorous  growth. 

The  reason  why  so  many  bare  spots  are  seen  in  pastures 
and  meadows  of  this  grass  is  due  to  two  causes :  1st,  the 
land  is  generally  not  half  prepared  to  receive  the  seed ;  and 
2d,  there  is  a  penny  wise  and  pound  foolish  policy  in  sow- 
ing too  few  seed.  Let  the  land  be  well  broken  by  deep  and 
thorough  plowing,  and  then  be  finely  pulverized  by  repeated 
harrowings.  Sow  the  seed,  the  thicker  the  better,  and  run 
a  light  brush  or  harrow  over  the  land,  so  as  to  cover  the 
seed  slightly.  Mr.  W.  D.  Gallagher  sums  the  whole  mat- 
ter up  :  "  Plow  the  land  deep,  pulverize  the  soil  well,  be 
generous  as  to  the  quantity  of  seed,  let  that  seed  be  good, 
sow  it  evenly,  give  the  land  as  good  treatment  afterwards 
as  is  given  to  meadow  lands  in  timothy." 


ORCHARD  GRASS.  93 

Its  chief  superiority  over  timothy  lies  in  the  value  of  its  / 
aftermath.     It  will  improve  under  depasturing  when  a  tim- 
othy meadow  would  be  rendered  worthless. 

To  sum  up  the  merits  of  this  grass: 

1.  It  is  better  suited  to  every  variety  of  soil  than  any 
other.     I   have   seen   it  growing  with   vigor  on  mountain 
heights  and  in  valley  plains,  on  sandy  loams  and  calcareous 
soils :    on  the   coarse   sandstone   soils   of    the   Cumberland 
Mountain,  and  on  the  tertiary  loess  and  alluvium  of  West 
Tennessee  as  well  as  upon  the  cretaceous  sands  of  that  di- 
vision.    I   have  grown  it  upon  the  siliceous  soils  of  the 
Rimlands,    and   have  seen    it    enliven  the    landscape    of 
the  Central    Basin   with    its   mantle    of   verdure.      It   is 
best  adapted  to  the  sandy  loams  of  West  Tennessee,  and  to 
the  lands  of  the   Central  .Basin  having  a  porous  subsoil. 
On  lands  having  a  tenacious  clay  foundation,  the  roots  are 
checked  in  their  descent,  and  the  -growth  is  not  so  luxuriant, 
nor  is  the  duration  of  the  pasture  so  great. 

2.  It   will   grow  with   greater  rapidity   than   any  other 
grass,  and  for  this  reason   will  sustain  a  large  number  of 
animals,  and  is  excellent  for  soiling  purposes. 

3.  It  will  grow  in  the  shade.     This  quality  will  enable 
the  farmers  to   utilize  their  woodlands  as  pasture,  and  so 
make  them  a  source  of  profit. 

4.  It   will   resist  drought   better  than  any  other  grass. 
The    hot   summers   make    this    a    very    valuable    quality 
in  any  grass.     Often   in  July  and  August  the  pastures  be- 
come so  parched  as  to  afford  but  a  small  amount  of  grazing. 
Orchard  grass  then  comes  to   the  rescue  and  supplies  the 
deficiency.      According   to   Col.    Bowman,    of   Kentucky, 
Orchard  grass,  owing  to  its  capacity  to  resist  drought,  and 
in  consequence  of  its  rapid  growth,  will  yield  more  pastur- 
age than  the  best  blue  grass  sod. 

5.  It  is  both  a  pasture  and  a  hay  grass*     After  a  crop  of 
hay  has  been  taken  off  in  June,  the  aftermath  will  furnish 
a  good  pasture  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  summer. 


94  THE    GRASSES    OF   TENNESSEE. 

A  prominent  sheep  raiser  of  Tennessee  who  has  been  carry- 
ing a  thousand  sheep  or  more,  says,  during  the  summer  it 
will  carry  double  as  many  sheep  as  blueigrass,  acre  for  acre; 
but  that  blue  grass  will  furnish  more  and  better  winter 
grazing. 

6.  It  may  be  sown  in  the  spring  or  fall  with  small  grain 
or  alone.  It  is  best  not  to  sow  it  with  grain/ as  the  extra 
production  of  grass,  when  sown  alone,  is  worth  more  than 
the  grain  and  grass  grown  together.  It  may  be  mown  as 
hay  or  cut  with  reapers  or  cradles,  and  bound  in  sheaves 
like  oats. 

WOOD  MEADOW  GRASS— (Poa  nemoralis). 

Spikelets  ovate,  compressed,  flowers  two  to  ten  in  an  open  panicle ; 
glumes  shorter  than  the  flowers ;  lower  palea  compressed,  keeled, 
pointless,  five  nerved ;  stamens  two  or  three,  seed  oblong,  free ;  stems 
tufted ;  leaves  smooth,  flat  and  soft 

This/ together  with  many  others,  be- 
longs to  the  same  family  with  blue  grass. 
It  grows  from  one  and  a  half  to  two 
feet  high  ;  has  a  perennial  creeping  root, 
and  an  erect,  smooth,  slender  stem.  It 
grows  in  swamps  or  watery  soils,  and 
very  rank,  and  flowers  in  June,  ripening 
its  seed  the  following  month. 

It  has  not  been  utilized  as  a  meadow 
grass  in  Tennessee,  but  from  its  luxu- 
riant foliage,  it  would  appear  to  be  a 
good  kind  for  mixing  in  swampy  soils 
with  other  grasses,  as  stock  are  exceed- 
ingly fond  of  it,  affording,  as  it  does,  a 
very  fine,  succulent,  nourishing  food. 
On  analysis  it  yielded  water  87.58, 
flesh- for piing  principles  3.22,  fat-form- 
ing principles  .81,  heat-producing  prin- 
ciples 3.98,  woody  matter  3.13,  min- 
eral matters  1.28,  from  100  parts,  cut  green.  It  is  thus, 


WOOD  MEADOW  GRASS  AKD  ROUGH  STALK  MEADOW.      95 

as  will  be  seen,  but  little  inferior  to  blue  grass.  It  is  best 
sown  in  September  or  February,  on  the  snow,  and  requires 
two  pounds  of  seed  per  acre.  It  is  a  fine  pasture  grass  as 
well  as  meadow. 

• 
ROUGH  STALK  MEADOW—  (Poo  trimalis}. 

This  species  of  the  Poa  is  a  favorite  in  England,  and 
stands  there  in  the  same  estimation  as  the  blue  grass  does 
here.  It  may  be  said  to  be  a  giant  blue  grass,  as  it  grows 
very  tall,  and  yields  about  a  ton  of  hay  the  first  cutting. 
It  can  with  difficulty  be  distinguished  from  the  blue  grass, 
except  in  size,  and  wanting  the  wooly  covering  of  the  seeds, 
as  in  the  latter.  However,  it  does  not  resist  the  inclemen- 
cies of  the  weather  as  well  as  blue  grass.  In  this  climate 
it  would  be  a  valuable  mixture  with  other  grasses,  as  it 
affords  a  good  aftermath,  but  alone  it  does  not  turf  well. 
On  analysis,  it  yields  almost  identically  the  same  ingredients 
with  blue  grass.  It  is  eaten  greedily  by  all  kinds  of  stock, 
and  though  it  does  not  make  a  very  early  pasture,  it  yet 
grows  rapidly  when  the  weather  becomes  warm.  It  is  well 
adapted  to  moist,  clayey  soils.  When  sown  alone,  twelve 
pounds  of  seed  per  •  acre  are  used.  Pastured  too  heavily, 
the  roots  become  exposed  to  the  sun,  and  it  is  liable  to  be 
destroyed  by  the  heat.  It  mixes  well  with  orchard  grass. 
Calcareous  loams  are  best  suited  to  it. 

WILLARDS  BROME— CHESS  OR  CHEAT— (Brvmus  seealinus. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  of  Bromes,  has  panicled  flowers  with  spike- 
lets,  from  five  to  many  flowered ;  glumes  not  quite  equal,  shorter  than 
the  flowers,  mostly  keeled,  the  lower  ones  five,  the  upper  three  to  nine 
nerved,  palea  herbaceous,  lower  one  convex  on  the  back  or  compressed, 
keeled,  five  to  nine  nerved,  awned  or  bearded  from  below  tne  tip, 
upper  palea  at  length  adhering  to  the  groove  of  the  oblong  grain, 
fringed  on  the  keel,  stamens  three  styles  attached  below  the  apex  of 
the  ovary. 

This  pest  and  scourge  of  the  wheat  grower  is  not  treated 
of  here  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  its  growth  as  a  food 


9G  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

for  stock,  but  rather  as  it  has  been  lauded  by  some  writers 
as  a  good  food,  to  expose  its  worthless  and  deleterious  effects 
when  once  engrafted  on  our  fields. 

We  have  given  in  the  "  Wheat  Culture  of  Tennessee,"  a 
resuine  of  its  history  and  character  more  fully  than  will  be 
necessary  here,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 

The  grasses  of  this  series  are  coarse,  with  large  spikelets, 
generally,  when  ripe.  A  few  years  ago  this  terrible  pest  was 
heralded  by  a  great  many  agricultural  papers  as  being  a 
fine  hay  for  cattle,  and  the  seed  was  advertised  and 
sold  at  enormous  prices.  The  public,  always  anxious  to  be 
humbugged,  and  ready  to  get  a  crop  without  adequate  work, 
readily  took  the  bait,  and  it  at  once  became  popular.  A 
Mr.  Willard  was  mainly  instrumental  in  giving  popularity 
to  this  scheme,  and  hence,  fastened  his  name  to  it.  Several 
agricultural  societies  lent  their  influence  to  the  humbug, 
and  so  it  ran  its  short  course  of  popularity.  In  fact,  it  is 
only  eaten  by  cows  when  they  can  get  nothing  else.  It  has 
some  nutritious  properties  about  it,  as  has  almost  every  other 
kind  of  grass,  but  its  injury  to  the  farm  far  surpasses  any 
supposed  virtues  it  may  possess.  The  seed  is  a  mere  point 
of  albumen,  sheathed  in  such  a  mattin-g  of  hulls  as  to  be 
almost  impervious  to  moisture.  Placed  below  the  vivify- 
ing influence  of  the  sun  and  air,  it  will  remain  uninjured 
in  the  earth  many  years,  and  then  when,  by  stirring  the 
ground,  it  is  brought  to  a  germinating  depth,  it  will  at  once 
raise  its  baleful  head,  as  if  triumphant  at  its  victory  over 
man. 

Thus,  when  once  introduced  into  a  farm,  it  is  years  before 
it  can  be  destroyed,  in  fact  this  can  only  be  done  by  persistent 
cultivation.  It  will  ruin  wheat,  both  by  impairing  its 
quality,  and  hence  its  sale,  and  also  by  appropriating  the 
fertilizing  qualities  of  the  soil,  which  should  go  to  the  sus- 
tenance of  the  wheat. 

A  common  error,  that  it  belongs  to  the  same  order  as 
wheat  or  triticum  may  be  exposed  at  once  by  reference  to 


CHEAT.  97 

the  botanic  description  given  above.  It  is  a  well  known 
axiom,  that  each  order  of  grasses  is  maintained  indefinite- 
ly, though  different  species  hybridize  with  each  other. 
Thus,  for  instance,  many  species  of  the  Bromes  may  be  cre- 
ated by  hybridization,  and  many  species  of  wheat  can  be 
generated  from  a  like  hybridization  of  Triticii ;  but  never 
has  there  been,  nor  will  there  ever  be,  an  instance  in  which 
wheat  can  be  changed  into  chess  or  blue  grass.  As  easily 
one  as  the  other.  The  laws  of  nature  forbid  it,  otherwise 
there  would  soon  be  no  regular  order  of  vegetation,  or  in 
point  of  fact,  of  animals,  for  one  rule  would  govern"  all,  and 
cows  would  mingle  with  horses,  dogs  with  man,  and  lions 
with  hogs. 

Dr.  Flint  instituted  some  experiments  as  to  the  relative 
value  of  cheat  as  a  food,  and  with  singular  good  sense  se- 
lected the  only  competent  judges  to  determine  the  fact — a 
jury  of  cows.  Being  placed  in  a  stable,  they  were  fed  in 
the  same  manger  with  timothy  and  herds  grass  mixed,  and 
cheat.  The  hay  was  eaten  and  the  cheat  left.  With  swale 
hay  (a  mixture  of  wild  grasses  and  sedges,  a  very  inferior 
hay),  the  swale  hay  was  eaten  and  the  cheat  left.  With 
reed  canary  grass  (the  most  inferior  hay  of  New  England) 
they  were  both  eaten  alike.  With  cheat  and  oat  straw,-  the 
cheat  was  eaten  first. 

With  reed  canary  grass  and  hay,  the  hay  was  taken  first. 

With  reed  canary  grass  and  swale,  the  latter  was  selected. 

With  reed  canary  and  corn  stalks,  the  latter  were  pre- 
ferred. 

With  cheat  and  millet,  the  millet  was  taken,  cheat  left. 

With  cheat  and  corn-stalks,  both  were  eaten  alike. 

These  experiments  demonstrate  its  character  as  a  food,  as 
being  by  no  means  commensurate  with  its  character  as  a 
pest. 


98  THE   GEA8SES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

ENGLISH  RYE  GRASS— (Loliwn  perenne.} 

Introduced  into  this  country  from  Europe,  a  good  pasture  grass,  one  to 
two  feet  high,  with  loose  spikes  five  to  six  inches  long,  seven  to  nine  flow- 
^ered,  twelve  to  eighteen  of  them  arranged  alternately  on 
the  flexuous  rachis,  glumes  single,  fine  nerved,  linear — lan- 
'ceolate,  mucronate.  Paleas  herbaceous,  equal,  the  outer  palea 
of  the  lowermost  floret  shorter  than  the  glumes.  Panicle 
spiked,  about  six  inches  Ions.  Culm  one  to  eighteen  inches 
high,  erect,  bearing  five  to  six  leaves.  Joints  purplish,  the 
first  and  second  rather  remote.  (Gould.) 

This  was  the  first  grass  cultivated  in  England, 
and  is  a  great  favorite,  occupying  the  same  posi- 
tion there  that  timothy  does  with  us.  It  is  but 
little  cultivated  in  the  United  States.  It  is  said 
to  impoverish  land  rapidly,  and  will  run  out  in 
a  few  years.  The  shortness  of  its  roots  will  not 
permit  it  to  endure  drouth,  but  it  is  adapted  to  a 
great  variety  of  soils.  It  is  of  qjiick  growth, 
and  will  sometimes  yield  forty  bushels  of  seed 
per  acre.  It  produces  a  nutritious  herbage 
There  are  no  less  than  seventy  varieties  produced 
in  England.  Wolff's  and  Knop's  analysis  shows 
the  hay  to  contain  : 

Flesh  formers 10.2 

Heat  producers 38.9 

Crude  fibre 30.2 

Fat 2.7 

Ash , 6.5 

Water 14.3 

One  of  the  most  valuable  species  of  this  grass 
is  the  Lolium  Italicum  mentioned  below.  We  do  not  re- 
gard the  ordinary  English  rye  grass  of  special  value  to 
Tennessee  farmers. 


I^ALIAX   RYE   GRASS.  99 

ITALIAN  RYE '  GRASS— (io?ittwi  Italicum). 

Spikelets  many  flowered,  solitary,  on  each  joint  of  the  corJfinuous  rachis 
edgewise,  glume  only  one,  and  external.  Distinguished  from  Darnell  by 
the  glumes  being  shorter  than  the  ^pikelets. 

Prof.  Way  gives  the  following  analysis  of  this 
grass :  Water  75.61,  flesh -forming  principles 
2.45,  fatty  matters  .80,  heat-producing  principles 
"14.11,  woody  fibre  4.82,  mineral  substances  2.21. 
See  table  in  chapter  III. 

This  grass  has  been  lately  introduced  from 
IM&pe,  where  it  is  said  to  be  more  universally 
a<Ja|ibed  to  all  sorts  of  climates  than  any  other 
grass,  and  is  very  popular  there.  It  grows  from 
two  to  three  feet  high,  and  on  moist,  rich  land, 
will  perhaps  bear  cutting  as  frequently  as  a  soil- 
ing or  green  forage  crop,  as  any  other  grass, 
affording  a  succession  of  green  cuttings  until  late 
in  the  fall.  It  can  be  forced  by  manures  and 
irrigation  to  a  greater  extent  than  any  other  known 
^ species  of  hay. 

However,  as  can  be  seen  from  its  analysis,  it 
has,  when  green,  nearly  half  less  nutrient  proper- 
ties than  timothy,  and  unless  the  farmer  wishes 
to  cut  it  as  a  green  food,  it  has  no  advantages 
over  the  latter.  It  is  van  annual  with  a  fibrous 
root,  and  bears  grazing  well.  The  time  of  sow- 
ing is  early  fall,  and  ten  pounds  of  seed  are  re- 
quired per  acre,  a  bushel  weighing  eighteen 
pounds.  It  is  a  valuable  grass  for  Southern  farm- 
ers, where  hay  is  scarce  and  high.  Being  sown  in 
the  fall  the  farmer  will  be  enabled  to  cut  it  early  in 
the  spring,  thus  giving  the  stock  a  change  from  corn  alone 
to  succulent  hay.  It  has  been  fully  tested  in  Georgia, 
and  has  given  great  satisfaction.  It  gives  a  fine  color  to 
the  butter  of  cows  fed  on  it,  and  they  eat  it  with  great 


100  THE   GRASSES  OF    TENNESSEE. 

relish.  It  withstands  the  hottest  suns  of  summer  as  well 
as  the  frosts  of  the  severest  winter.  It  must  be  sown  alone, 
as  it  will  quickly  choke  and  destroy  clover  or  other  grasses. 
Its  yield  per,  acre,  according  to  received  authority,  is  some- 
thing immense.  Mr.  Dickens,  of  England,  sowed  it  on  a 
stiff,  clay  soil,  well- manured,  cut  it  ten  times  during  one 
year ;  the  first  time,  ten  inches  in  March ;  April  13th  again ; 
and  May  4th  a  third  time;  May  25th  a  fourth  time;  June 
14th  again ;  July  22d  a  sixth  time,  with  ripe  seed  and 
three  loads  hay  to  the  acre.  Immediately  after  each  cut- 
ting it  was  manured  with  liquid  manure,  the  produce  of 
each  crop  increasing  with  the  temperature  of  the  atmos- 
phere, from  three-quarters  of  a  load,  the  first  cutting,  to 
three  loads  the  last.  He  discontinued  manuring  now, 
thinking  its  growth  would  be  terminated  in  bearing  seed,  but 
he  afterwards  cut  four  crops  from  it.  On  the  26th  January 
following,  it  measured  sixteen  inches  in  height.  The  last 
cutting  was  October  30th ;  and  on  the  8th  April  a  crop  of 
twenty-two  inches  high  was  cut  from  it.  "  I  was  desirous 
to  know  the  exact  amount  taken  per  acre  for  the  year,  and 
it  amounted,  on  a  careful  measuring  and  weighing  of  green 
hay,  thirteen  tons  and  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
pounds  per  acre ! "  (Coleman's  European  Agriculture.) 

It  presents  a  most  charming  view,  with  its  broad,  dark- 
' green  foliage,  and  especially  in  a  dry  year,  when  vegetation 
is  parched  up  all  around,  it  does  not  show  any  signs  of  los- 
ing its  fresh,  living,  luxuriant  growth.  Although  an  annuaj, 
a  meadow  of  this  grass  may  be  made  perennial  by 
scattering  fresh  seed  over  the  ground  every  second  year, 
and  scratching  it  with  a  harrow  with  sharp  teeth.  Its  un- 
usual ability  to  withstand  the  vicissitudes  of  heat  and  cold 
would  make  it  a  desirable  grass  in  any  thirsty  soil,  as  well 
as  in  moist  ones,  and  might  possibly  be  a  valuable  addition 
to  the  soils  of  the  western  portion  of  our  State.  At  least 
it -is  worthy  of  a  trial. 


MANY-FLOWERED   DARNEL— ORA&  GRASS.  '    '     101 

Mr.  Gould  thinks  the  valuable  qualities  of  this  grass 
may  be  summed  up  as  follows  : 

"  Its  habit  of  coming  early  to  maturity. 

"  Its  rapid  reproduction  after  cutting. 

"  Its  wonderful  adaptation  to  all  domestic  animals,  which 
is  shown  by  the  extreme  partiality  they  manifest  for  it, 
either  alone  or  when  mixed  with  other  grasses ;  whether 
when  used  as  green  food  for  soiling,  as  hay,  or  as  pasturage, 
in  which  latter  state  its  stems  are  never  allowed  to  ripen 
and  wither  like  other  grasses. 

"  Its  beneficial  influence  on  the  dairy,  not  only  augment- 
ing the  flow  of  milk,  but  improving  the  flavor  of  the  cheese 
and  butter. 

lt  Its  uncommon  hardiness  and  capacity  to  withstand  the 
vicissitudes  of  both  wetness  and  dryness." 

MANY  FLOWERED  DARNEL— (Lolium  MuUiftora). 

This  is  almost  identical  in  appearance  with  the  preceding, 
and  with  very  much  the  same  qualities,  surpasses  all  other 
in  showiness  of  appearance.  It  has  been  cultivated  long  in 
France,  and  about  forty  years  ago  it  was  carried  to  Eng- 
land, and  from  thence  to  this  country.  It  resembles,  and 
is  often  taken  for  another  species  of  Lolium,  or  tares  of 
Scripture,  that  is  an  exceedingly  troublesome  weed,  and  has 
poisonous  seeds,  hence  the  parable  of  separating  tares  from 
wheat  had  a  forcible  application,  and  was  readily  compre- 
hended by  the  hearers. 

CRAB  OR  CROP  GRASS^(Pamcwm  Sanguinale.) 

Erect,  one  to  two  feet,  leaves  and  sheaths  oftener  heavy,  spikes  five  to 
nine,  digitate,  spreading  from  four  to  six  inches,  rachis  flexuous,  spikelets 
oblong,  lanceolate  one  and  a  half  lines,  upper  glumes  one-half  as  long  as 
the  flower,  lower  one  minnte,  waste  grounds.  ( Wood.} 

This  grass  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  Eleusine 
Indica,  also  called  Crab  grass,  from  its  supposed  resem- 
blance to  a  crab. 

This  species  is  so  familiar  to  every  Southern  farmer  that 


102  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

it  would  seem  to  be  superfluous  to  notice  it.  But  as  little 
as  it  may  appear,  it  is  one  of  our  most  valuable  indigenous 
grasses. 

Crab  grass  is  an  annual,  and  so  full  of  seeds  is  it,  that  it 
is  never  necessary  to  sow  it.  It  is  never  cultivated  alone, 
which  could  be  easily  done  by  sowing  the  seed  on  a  smooth 
surface  about  Ihe  first  of  June.  When  the  cultivation  of  a 
piece  of  ground  ceases,  it  at  once  takes  possession  of  it,  and 
soon  furnishes  a  fine  pasture.  It  grows  not  only  in  the  cul- 
tivated fields,  but  in  old  pastures,  yards  and  woods. 

It  is  a  fine  pasture  grass,  although  it  has  but  few  base 
leaves,  and  forms  no  sward,  yet  it  sends  out  numerouF  stems, 
branching  freely  at  the  base.     It  serves  a  most  useful  pur- 
pose in  stock  husbandry,  and  the  northern  farmers  would 
congratulate  themselves  very  much  if  they  had  it  to  turn 
their  cattle  on  while  the  clover  fields  and  meadows  are  parched 
up  with  summer  heat.     For  want  of  it  they  have  to  resort 
to  soiling  with  green  forage  raised  for  the  purpose.     It  fills 
all  our  cornfields,  and  many  persons  pull  it  out,  which  is  a 
tedious  process.     It  makes  a  sweet  food,  and  horses  are 
exceedingly   fond  of  it,    leaving   the  best   hay  to  eat    it. 
Should  it  be  desired  to  secure  a  good  crop  of  it,  do  not  pas- 
ture the'  wheat  or  oat  stubble,  except  with  hogs,  until  the 
crab  grass  gets  a  good  start,  then  take  off  the  hogs,  and 
allow  it  to  get  into  bloom,  and  if  the  land  is  good,  there 
will  be  a  paying  quantity  to  save.     But  be  extremely  par- 
ticular about  getting  it  wet,  as  from  its  porous  character  it 
will  not  stand  the  slightest  rains  after  it  is  cut.     Or  if  it  is 
desired  to  fallow  a  piece  of  land  for  wheat,  break  it  up  in  the 
spring,  allow  the  weeds  to  come  up  a  few  inches,  and  about 
the  first  of  June  break  again,  plowing  under  well  the  weeds, 
and  then  harrow  and  roll,  and  in  September  there  can  be 
cut  a  large  quantity  of  good,  though  light  hay,  from  the 
piece.     The  freedmen  of  the  State  secure  large   quantities 
of  it  from  surrounding  fields  for  their  stock. 


t 

MISSOURI   MILLET.  103 


CHAPTER^IX. 

• 
MILLET  —  BARNYARD    GRASS,    BENGAL    GRASS,    GAMA 

GRASS,  EGYPTIAN  GRASS,   MEADOW  OAT  GRASS. 

Millet — (Panicum  Miliaceum). 

Spikelets  panicled  or  racemed,  sometimes  spikes;  glumes  two,  the 
lower  one  short  minute  or  wanting ;  lower  flower  neutral,  rarely  awned, 
upper  perfect ;  stamens  three ;  stigmas  usually  purple. 

This  description  covers  the  general  characteristics  of  the 
millet  family,  though  each  one  differs  in  some  respects  from 
the-  other. 

The  common  millet  has  flowers  in  large,  open>  nodding 
panicles,  leaves  lance-shaped,  broad  stem  one  to  three  feet 
high ;  a  native  of  Turkey  and  an  annual.  German  Millet 
and  Tennessee  Millet  have  a  thick,  nodding  spike,  com- 
pound, six  to  nine  inches  long,  purplish,  afterwards  yellow- 
ish, bristles  two  and  three  in  a  cluster.  Introduced  from 
Europe. 

MISSOURI     MILLET— (Panicum    Italica).     Same    description  .  SM 

others. 

•These  grasses  have  been  cultivated  extensively  in  the 
State  for  many  years.  Besides  the  species  mentioned,  there 
are  many  others,  but  they  are  only  varieties  of  one  plant. 
In  Europe  and  in  the  Indian  Islands,  the  seeds  are  used 
extensively  as  food  for  man,  the  seeds  abounding  in  nitro- 
genous principles.  Great  quantities  of  seed  have  been 
raised  in  the  State  for  exportation,  and  the  yield  per  aere  ia 
very  large  when  properly  cultivated.  The  low  prices  it  has 
y  elded  for  the  last  two  years,  has  almost  put  a  stop  to  its 
cultivation.  The  reason,  no  doubt,  of  the  want  of  demand 
is  its  inferior  character  as  a  cattle  food.  It  at  one  time,  en- 
joyed a  wide-spread  fame,  and  it  was  only  the  starving 


104  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

appearance  of  stock,  that  led  people  to  depend  less  upon  it. 
At  one  period,  it  was  deemed  sufficient  food  for  any  stock, 
without  the  aid  of  anything  else.     The  fodder  was  hay  and 
the  seed  was  corn.     But  later  investigations  have  demon- 
strated the  fact,  that  when  hay  ripens  seed,  its  usefulness 
as  a  hay  measurably  ceases.      Were  stock  fed  exclusively  on 
seed-heads,    with   a   sufficiency  of  good  hay,   they   would 
thrive  exceedingly  well,  or  if   the  millet  is  cut  while  in 
the  flower,  or  even  when  the  seed  is  in  the  milky  state,  and 
fed  to  stock  in  combination  with  grain,  they  would  do  well. 
But  even  then,  it  is  much  inferior  to  oats,  timothy,  or  herds 
grass.     Its  only  special  recommendation  is,  that  it  yields  a 
larger  proportion  of  hay  than  other  grasses.     It  requires  a 
rich,    dry    soil,   and    will    stand   almos^   any   amount  of 
droughts,  seeming  to  dry  up  during  the  heat,  but  when  it 
rains  it  will  start  off  with  renewed  life,  and  do  as  well  as 
ever.     It  makes  large  quantities  of  seed  per  acre,  the  Hun- 
garian yielding  30  bushels ;  the  Missouri  40 ;  the  Tennes- 
see 50 ;  and  the  German  from  60  to  80  bushels  per  acre. 
The  Hungarian  millet  is  a  better  hay  than  either  of  the 
others,  but  its  yield  is  much  less.     The  Tennessee  millet 
perhaps  yields  more  hay  than  either  of  the  other  three,  but 
the    Missouri    has   more   reputation   as   a   feed  for  cattle. 
Should  it  be  wished,  however,  to  sow  for  a  money  crop,  it 
will  be  far  preferable  to  sow  the  German  millet.     The  Hun- 
garian has  a  small  head,  a  simple  spike,  while   the  others 
have  compound  spikes,   most  notably  the  German.     It  is 
easily  raised,   at  less  cost  than  corn,  and  makes,  on  good 
ground,  nearly  double  as  many  bushels  as  the  latter  per 
acre.     It  is  a  good  grain  for  stock  of  any  kind,  if  crushed, 
the  smallness  of  the  seed  preventing  comminution  by  the 
teeth.     Should  it  be  desirable  to  raise  it  for  stock,  it  will 
make  an  excellent  food,  to  feed  it  in  the  head,  without  the 
expense  of  threshing.     For  all  kinds  of  fowls  it  is  unsur- 
passed,  and   it   is   a   powerful   stimulant   to   laying  eggs. 
Chickens  having  a  supply  to  go  to,  will  continue  to  lay 


MISSOURI   MILLET.  105 

through  the  whole  winter,  and  at  the  prices  it  has  been  sell- 
ing for,  for  two  years,  nothing  is  cheaper. 

To  sow  for  hay  prepare  the  ground  in  a  thorough  man- 
ner, pulverizing  it  completely,  and  when  the  ground  is  in  a 
sufficiently  moist  condition,  in  June,  sow  the  seed,  a  bushel 
to  the  acre.  Never  sow  if  the  ground  i^too  dry  or  too  wet. 
If  too  dry,  the  seed  near  the  surface  will  parch  in  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  and  a  stand  will  fail  to  appear.  If  too  wet  the 
usual  injury  to  the  land  occurs  and  the  crop  "  frenches  "  or 
turns  yellow  and  dwarfs.  After  sowing,  harrow  well  and 
the  labor  is  over.  The  millet  will  require  seventy  or 
eighty  days  to  mature,  unless  it  is  sown  in  July,  when  it 
will  require  a  few  days  longer. 

Two  crops  of  Hungarian  grass  can  easily  be  raised  from 
the  same  ground  annually.  A  farmer  of  Davidson  county 
raised  a  most  excellent  crop  of  Hungarian  grass,  sown  the 
1st  day  of  September  and  cut  on  the  10th  of  October. 
Another,  of  Williamson  county,  secured  a  good  crop  of 
German  millet  sown  on  the  13th  day  of  August,  and  cut 
on  the  12th  day  of  October.  So,  if  a  farmer,  by  any  kind 
of  misfortune,  fails  in  the  earlier  months  to  secure  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  forage  for  his  stock,  he  can,  as  a  dernier 
resort,  start  very  late  in  supplying  himself,  by  crops  of 
millet.  Should  it  be  desired  to  use  the  hay  as  a  green 
forage,  it  can  be  cut  three  times  at  least,  provided  it  is  done 
before  it  begins  to  throw  up  the  seed  stalks.  It  is  a  com- 
mon custom  in  the  Southern  States  to  use  it  in  this  manner 
instead  of  buying  the  expensive  baled  hay  of  the  North. 

For  seed,  prepare  the  ground  as  above  described,  and  then, 
with  a  light  bull-tongue  or  skooter  plow,  run  light  parallel 
rows  thirty  inches  apart,  and  with  a  tin  cup  or  old  oyster 
can  that  has  three  or  four  holes  punched  in  the  bottom 
with  a  4-penny  nail,  walk  rapidly  along  the  furrow,  and 
the  seed  will  sift  into  it  from  the  cup  about  right  for  a 
stand.  Cover  very  lightly  with  a  cotton  coverer,  and  then, 
just  when  the  seeds  begin  to  sprout,  but  before  they  show 


106  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

the  sprouts  above  ground,  run  over  the  field  with  a  harrow, 
and  there  will  be  no  further  trouble.  Afterwards  cultivate 
with  a  cultivator  and  double-shovel,  one  plowing  with  each 
being  all  that  is  required.  It  will  be  necessary  to  thin 
out  the  Tennessee  millet  with  hoes,  leaving  a  mere  thread 
of  stems,  as  it  stodlls  prodigiously,  but  this  will  be  unneces- 
sary with  either  of  the  other  three,  as  they  scarcely  stool 
at  all. 

It  must  be  cut  with  reap  hooks,  taking  just  enough  of 
the  head  to  enable  the  laborer  to  make  it  into  bundles ;  or 
if  preferred,  it  can  be  broken  off  at  the  head,  taking  only 
the  seed,  leaving  the  stubble  to  renew  the  soil.  If  it  is  in- 
tended to  thresh  it,  the  reap  hook  must  be  used,  as  it  will 
not  thresh  clean  alone,  but  if  the  farmer  wishes  to  tread  it  out 
on  a  barn-floor  with  horses,  the  straw  would  involve  much 
waste,  as  the  seeds  become  entangled  with  the  straw,  and 
will  not  easily  separate  from  it.  They  are,  after  treading, 
separated  from  the  chaff  with  an  ordinary  wheat-fan. 

This  grass  is  of  great  value  to  the  renter  who  has  no 
opportunity  of  continuing  in  possession  of  the  land  long 
enough  to  set  a  meadow.  But  for  the  landowner,  there  is 
no  excuse  for  not  providing  himself  with  the  best  hay  the 
climate  and  soil  affords,  and  there  are  plenty  of  good 
grasses  to  suit  every  variety  of  soil  in  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see. If  a  farmer  who  is  a  landowner  wishes  to  indulge  the 
pride,  and  it  is  an  economical  pride,  of  having  fat  horses, 
sleek  cattle,  and  plenty  of  bacon,  let  him  at  once  see  to  his 
meadows,  for  a  good  meadow  is  next  to  a  corn-crib  to  pre- 
pare pork  for  the  smoke-house,  as  well  as  to  fatten  all  kinds 
of  stock.  A  crop  of  millet  is  a  good  forerunner  for  a 
meadow,  as  it  destroys  all  the  noxious  weeds,  and  leaves 
the  laud  in  fine  condition  for  timothy  or  herds  grass. 

An  analysis  of  Hungarian  grass  by  Wolff  when  green 
shows : 


107 

Ash  7.23 

Potash  37.4 

Magnesia 8.0 

Lime 10.8 

Phosphoric  Acid 5.4 

Sulphuric  acid 3.6 

Silica 29.1 

Chlorine 6.4 

BARNYARD  GRASS— (Panicum  crus-galli). 

This  grass  is  quite  common  in  wet,  swampy  places,  and  has  spikes 
alternate  and  in  pairs,  sheaths  smooth,  rachis  bristly ;  stem  from  two 
to  four  feet  high,  stout,  erect  or  somewhat  procumbent  leaves  half  an 
inch  broad ;  panicle  dense  pyramidal,  glumes  acute ;  arms  variable  in 
length,  sometimes  wanting ;  outer  palea  of  the  neutral  flower  usually 
awned.  It  flowers  from  August  to  October. 

It  is  a  species  of  millet,  but  has  received  but  little  atten- 
tion here  as  yet,  though  some  efforts  have  been  made  to  test 
it.  It  has  never  been  utilized  in  Tennessee,  but  is  cut  on 
the  coasts  of  England  as  a  constituent  of  swale  hay.  It 
will,  probably  never  supersede  any  of  the  many  excellent 
meadow  grasses  we  have.  It  is  succulent  and  nutritive, 
and  when  green,  is  eaten  by  stock  with  a  relish,  and  it 
gives  a  very  large  yield  of  hay. 

BENGAL  GH\SS~(Setaria  Germanica). 

A  species  of  millet  introduced  from  Europe>  and  de- 
scribed under  the  head  of  millets. 

GAM  A  GRASS— (Tripsacum  dactyloides). 

Spikelets  in  jointed  spikes,  staminate  above,  fertile  below ;  staminate 
spikelets  two,  both  alike ;  two  flowered,  lower  glume  nerved ;  upper 
boat-shaped ;  pale,  thin,  awnless ;  anthers  opening  by  two  pores  at  the 
apex ;  stems  tall  and  large,  solid,  from  thick  creeping  roots ;  leaves 
broad  and  flat 

This  is  in  some  sections  called  sesame  grass.  It  is  the 
largest,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful  grasses  we  have, 
growing  to  the  height  of  seven  feet.  It  is  abundant  through- 
out the  Mississippi  Valley  on  moist,  slushy  places.  When 
young  and  succulent,  it  is  eaten  with  avidity  by  stock,  and 


108  THE    GRASSES    OF  TENNESSEE. 

makes  from  its  rapid  growth  a  good  soiling  or  forage  crop, 
but  when  it  gets  large  its  stem  is  so  woody  stock  refuse  to 
eat  it.  Its  leaves  are  very  large,  equal  in  size  to  the  leaves 
of  corn,  but  they  are  rough  and  hairy. 

The  grass  may  be  cut  three  or  four  times  a  year,  and 
though  in  its  native  state  it  grows  in  swamps,  it  thrives  almost 
equally  well  on  dry  or  sandy  ridges.  It  will  grow  where 
timothy  or  herds'  grass  will  not,  and  consequently  is  well 
suited  to  a  large  section  of  our  Sfete.  The  quantity  of  hay 
taken  from  one  acre  is  simply  enormous,  and  resembles 
very  much  corn  fodder,  and  as  a  hay  is  fully  equal  to  it, 
and  it  can  be  saved  at  one  tenth  the  labor  required  to  save 
fodder.  The  roots  are  as  strong  and  large  as  cane  roots,  so 
let  it  be  sown  where  it  will  not  be  desired  to  remove  it. 
However,  close  grazing  for  a  few  years  will  destroy  it. 

It  is  very  nutritious  and  succulent  when  cut  green.  The 
great  mass  of  roots  it  has  will  serve  to  open,  loosen  and 
improve  the  land  upon  which  it  grows.  It  should  never  be 
allowed  to  shoot  up  the  seed  stem  when  desired  for  hay. 

It  is  with  difficulty  the  seed  can  be  made  to  vegetate,  and 
therefore  it  must  be  propagated  by  slips  from  the  roots. 
Prepare  the  land  well,  lay  off  the  furrows  with  a  bull- 
tongue  plow  two  feet  apart,  and  drop  a  sro^ll  piece  of  root 
about  two  feet  apart  in  the  furrow,  covering  with  a  board. 
The  creeping  roots  will  soon  meet,  and  the  ground  is  quickly 
turfed  with  it.  It  should  be  planted  early  in  September. 
Of  course,  the  richer  the  land,  whether  upland  or  bottom, 
the  greater  the  yield,  as  the  time  has  never  yet  come  when 
poor  land  will  make  better  crops  of  anything  than  fertile 
land.  ,1  have  seen  it  growing  with  great  luxuriance  in 
Montgomery  county. 

EGYPTIAN  GRASS— (Dactyloctenium  Eyypticum). 

This  grass  is  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  has  diffuse  stems,  often  creep- 
ing at  the  base  ;  spikes  four  or  five,  leaves  hairy  at  the  base. 

This  is  an  annual  grass,  is  found  in  yards,  is  very  trouble- 
some, and  is  entirely  worthless.  It  is  not  a  meadow  grass 


MEADOW   OAT   GEASS  109 

at  all,  but  is  placed  in  the  list  simply  to  warn  buyers  of 
seeds  not  to  purchase  it,  as  the  Means'  grass  under  the  name 
of  Egyptian  grass,  has  obtained  a  considerable  reputation, 
and  it  would  be  easy  for  a  swindler  to  palm  off  this  for  the 
former. 

MEADOW  OAT  GRASS— (J.ve?ia  pratensis). 

Spikelets  three  to  many  flowered,  with  an  open,  large,  diffuse  pan- 
icle; lower  pale  a  seven  to  eleven  nerved,  with  a  long,  usually  twisted 
awn  on  the  back,  grain  oblong,  grooved  on  the  side,  usually  hairy  and 
free. 

This  is  a  perennial  grass,  and  is  a  native  of  Great  Britain. 
It  is  one  of  the  few  grasses  that  do  best  on  a  dry  soil.  It 
grows  to  the  height  of  only  eighteen  inches  in  its  native 
pastures.  But  here  it  is  quite  a  different  grass,  and  rises  to 
the  height  of  from  five  to  six  feet.  It  will  not  grow  well 
on  moist  soils,  but  on  rich  upland  or  good  sandy  land  it 
grows  with  vigor.  It  deserves  a  place  on  every  farm,  as 
the  hay  is  excellent,  and  is  greedily  eaten  by  stock,  and  be- 
sides, the  yield  is  extremely  large.  Another  advantage  is 
that  the  seed  will  be  ripe  before  the  hay  turns  yellow,  so 
that  not  only  the  hay  will  be  saved,  but  a  large  amount  of 
seed  can  be  secured ;  upon  a  barn  floor  enough  will  shatter 
out  to  supply  the  wants  of  most  farmers.  Or  if  the  farm- 
er wishes  to  sell  the  seed,  he  can  cut  off  the  heads  .with  a 
cradle,  and  let  the  mower  follow  for  the  hay. 

Should  the  autumn  prove  a  wet  one,  a  second  crop  can  be 
cut,  but  if  there  is  not  sufficient  aftermath  to  justify  cut- 
ting, do  not  pasture  it,  but  allow  it  to  grow  on  as  long  as  it 
will,  and  it  will  about  Christmas  turn  over,  the  tops  turn- 
ing yellow,  but  underneath  there  will  be  a  magnificent  pas- 
ture, all  prepared  for  the  hungry  stock,  and  it  will  con- 
tinue to  sustain  them  until  other  grasses  take  its  place. 
However,  should  it  be  desired  to  use  it  for  hay  the  succeed- 
ing year,  the  stock  should  be  removed  about  the  middle  of 
February. 


110  THE   GRASSES    OF*    TENNESSEE. 

It  will  seed  in  the  fall,  after  being  sown  in  the  spring, 
which  is  the  proper  time  to  sow  it.  Sow  two  bushels  per 
acre;  The  seed  is  very  light  and  chaffy.  It  is  a  tussock 
g#ass,  and  does  not  spread  from  the  roots,  consequently  the 
seed  must  be  depended  on  for  a  stand.  After  the  first  sow- 
ing, there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  seed,  as  the 
yield  is  large.  It  affords  both  for  hay  and  pasture,  perhaps 
more  green  food  than  any  grass  we  have.  Dr.  Flint  de- 
scribes this  grass  under  the  name  of  Perennial  Rye  Grass 
(Lolium  perenne),  and  thinks  the  best  time  to  cut  is  while 
in  the  flower,  and  the  experience  of  every  one  in  other 
grasses  would  seem  to  justify  this  opinion. 


SORGHUM.  Hi 


CHAPTER  X. 

MEANS,   JOHNSON,    EGYPTIAN   GRASS. 

SORGHUM—  (Happens*.) 

Rises  with  a  stem  from  four  to  twelve  feet  high,  according  to  the 
soil  on  which  it  grows,  erect,  smooth ;  leaves  linear,  flexuous,  graceful, 
curling  down  at  the  end  like  corn ;  flowers  in  a  panicle  at  the  top,  at 
first  green,  changing  gradually  to  a  yellow. 

A  few  years  before  the  late  war,  Capt.  Means,  of  South 
Carolina,  who  commanded  a  trading  vessel  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea,  brought  from  Egypt  a  lot  of  seeds,  from  which 
he  got  a  spoonful  of  seeds  of  an  unknown  kind.  He  handed 
them  to  some  one  with  a  request  that,  they  be  sown  in  his 
garden.  They  came  up  and  proved  to  be  the  grass  named 
above.  It  was  of  an  unknown  quality,  and  but  little  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  it,  until  it  nearly  took  his  garden.  He  had 
the  plants  dug  up  by  the  roots  and  thrown  into  a  neighbor- 
ing gulley,  where  they  soon  began  to  grow,  stopping  the 
wash  and  spreading  all  around.  It  was  now  seen  for  the 
first  time  that  it  was  greedily  eaten  by  stock.  This  was 
suggestive  in  a  country  where  all  the  hay  had  to  be  im- 
ported, and  so  seed  was  gathered  and  sown,  and  the  wind 
spread  the  seed  all  around  from  the  growing  grass.  It 
puzzled  farmers  to  know  it  from  corn,  and  it  was  often  left 
for  corn  in  the  field  when  thinning  out,  so  that  the  negroes 
abbreviated  the  local  name  and  called  it  "mean  grass." 

In  1860,  Capt.  Johnson,  of  Marion  Station,  Alabama, 
paid  a  visit  to  some  relatives  and  heard  of  this  grass,  that 
had  in  the  meantime  acquired  a  great  reputation,  and  on 
his  return  he  carried  home  with  him  a  bushel  of  seeds  and 
sowed  them  on  his  plantation.  Soon  after  he  went  into  the 
Confederate  service  and  was  killed,  leaving  two  little  girls. 
These  girls  were  sent  to  school  at  Tuscaloosa,  but  having 


112  THE   GRASSES*    OF    TENNESSEE. 

no  guardian  and  no  means,  the  president  had  a  gentleman 
appointed  guardian  who  went  to  Marion  to  see  if  his  wards 
had  anything.  In  the  meantime  the  plantation  was  left 
alone,  no  one  caring  for  it,  and  it  was  unrented.  He  found 
it  a  large  place,  and  almost  entirely  covered  with  the 
Means  grass,  the  winds  and  stock  having  set  it  everywhere. 
Being  a  shrewd  man,  he  saw  its  capability  and  at  once  ad- 
vertised it  as  a  stock  farm,  and  soon  rented  it  to  Mr.  E.  C. 
Gardner  and  J.  C.  Copeland,  Esq.,  of  Nashville.  They  saw 
their  opportunity,  and  at  once,  securing  a  number  of  baling 
presses,  set  to  work  cutting  and  baling  hay  for  the  Southern 
market. 

The  hay  proved  popular  and  sold  well  wherever  tried,  as 
stock  delighted  in  it,  leaving  all  other  kinds  to  eat  it.  Ap- 
plications naturally  poured  in  for  some  of  the  grass,  and  so 
they  sold  immense  quantities  of  the  seed,  and  also  of  the 
roots,  getting  large  prices  for  both.  So  great  was  its  popu- 
larity that  at  the  end  of  their  five  years  lease  a  company  of 
Northern  men  out-bid  them,  and  have  resorted  to  steam  to 
assist  in  the  baling  process. 

Egyptian  Sugar  Cane,  as  its  proper  name  is,  is  a  daughter 
of  the  Nile,  where  it  grows  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high.  So 
great  is  its  luxuriance  there  that  it  has  filled  all  the  upper 
Nile  so  that  a  canoe  cannot  be  driv?en  through  it.  Great 
numbers  of  cattle  and  wild  animals  resort  to  it,  and,  in  fact, 
it  is  the  chief  sustenance  of  ruminants  in  that  country. 

When  young  it  is  very  tender  and  sweet,  the  ,pith  being 
full  of  sugary  juice.  The  leaves  are  as  large  as  corn  fodder, 
and  very  nutritious.  It  has  a  perennial  root,  and  so  vigor- 
ous that  when  once  planted  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  eradi- 
cate it.  So  care  must  be  taken  to  plant  it  where  it  is  not 
intended  to  be  disturbed.  The  roots  are  creeping  and 
throw  out  shoots  from  every  joint.  It  is  a  fine  fertilizer, 
and  sown  on  a  piece  of  poor  washed  land  will,  in  a  few 
years,  restore  it  to  its  pristine  fertility.  But  there  is  really 
not  much  difference  where  it  is  sown,  for  a  farmer  once 


SOEGHUM.  113 

getting  a  good  stand  will  not  want  to  destroy  it.  It  will 
bear  cutting  three  or  four  times  a  year,  and  in  fact,  it  has  to 
be  done,  for  when  it  matures  the  seed,  the  stem  and  leaves 
are  too  coarse  and  woody  for  use. 

Jno.  B.  McEwen,  Esq.,  of  Williamson  county,  procured 
a  bushel  of  seed  from  Dr.  Gardner,  and  last  year  cut  it  four 
times,  getting  a  large  amount  of  hay  each  time.  He  is  de- 
lighted with  it,  and  says  it  is  the  best  hay  he  raises,  and  his 
dictum  is  of  value,  as  he  stands  deservedly  among  the  best 
of  our  farmers. 

The  ground  must  be  well  prepared  as  in  other  grasses,  and 
in  September,  the  earlier  the  Better,  let  it  be  sown,  one 
bushel  to  the  acre. 

It  can  be  propagated  also  by  the  roots,  by  laying  off  the 
rows  each  way  and  dropping  a  joint  of  the  root  two  feet 
apart  and  covering  with  a  drag. 

It  gives  the  earliest  pastures  we  have,  preceding  blue 
grass  or  clover  a  month.  Hogs  are  fond  of  the  roots,  and 
any  amount  of  rooting  in  it  will  not  injure  it.  In  fact  it  is 
a  stick  tight.  It  not  only  thrives  well  on  bottoms,  but  it 
will  grow  just  as  well  on  upland,  and  though  poor  upland 
will  make  but  little  hay,  yet  it  makes  a  fine  pasture.  It 
disappears  in  the  winter  altogether,  but  the  first  warm 
weather  brings  it  up,  and  it  grows  with  astonishing  rapidity. 
On  our  lands  and  in  our  climate  it  will  grow  from  five  to 
seven  feet  high,  while  in  South  Carolina  it  will  grow 
twelve  feet  high. 

For  soiling  purposes  it  is  not  equaled  by  any  grass  in  our 
knowledge,  as  it  can  be  cut  every  two  or  three  weeks. 

There  is  a  vast  amount  of  land  in  Tennessee  now  de- 
voted to  gullies  that  would  pay  at  least  the  taxes,  and  after 
a  while  richly  remunerate  the  owner,  if  put  in  this  grass. 
It  is  not  a  pre-requisite  that  the  land  should  be  broken  up 
to  start  it.  A  few  sprigs  of  the  roots  set  here  and  there  in 
the  richest  spots,  will  secure  a  good  stand, 
8 


114  THE   dBASSES  OF   TENNESSEE. 

Many  persons  object  to  it  on  account  of  its  great  tenacity 
of  life,  matting  the  soil  in  every  direction  with  its  cane- 
like  roots,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  it  will  spread  over 
a  field,  and  the  difficulty  of  eradicating  it.  But  these  very 
objections  should  be  its  recommendation  to  owners  of  worn- 
out  fields ;  and  if  it  is  desired  to  destroy  it,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  pasture  it  closely  one  year,  and  then  in  the  fall 
turn  the  roots  up  with  a  big  plow  to  the  freezes  of  a  winter, 
renewing  the  breaking  up  once  or  twice  during  the  winter, 
and  then  cultivating  the  next  spring.  The  seeds  are  quite 
heavy,  and  weigh  35  pounds  to  the  bushel.  Every  one  who  has 
tried  it  recommends  it  to  'the  public.  But  some  allowance 
must  be  made  for  the  partiality  of  friends,  and  it  would  be 
well  to  give  it  a  trial  before  engaging  in  its  culture  to  any 
large  extent.  There  would,  however,  certainly  be  no  risk 
in  sowing  it  upon  those  worn-out  hill  sides,  so  many  of  which 
form  an  unsightly  scar  upon  the  face  of  nature  in  Tennessee 
— the  tokens  of  the  past. 


RED   CLOVER. 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

BED   CLOVER— (Trifolium  pratense.) 

The  stems  are  ascending,  somewhat  hairy,  leaflets  oval  or  somewhat 
•ubovate,  often  notched  at  the  end  and  marked  with  pale  spots  on  the 
upper  side,  heads  ovate  and  set  directly  on  the  end  of  the  stalk,  instead 
of  being  on  the  branches. 

This  valuable  forage  plant 
was  first  introduced  into 
England  in  1645,  during  the 
stormy  times  of  Charles  I, 
and  rapidly  met  with  favor 
throughout  the  kingdom.  It 
properly  belongs  to  the  legu- 
minous family,  which  in- 
cludes a  considerable  num- 
ber of  other  forage  plants 
that  are  called  artificial 
grasses,  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  true  or  natural 
grasses  called  graminece.  The 
botanic  name  trifolium  comes 
from  two  latin  words,  tres, 
three,  and  folium,  a  leaf,  and  in  England  it  is  often  called 
Trefoil.  It  may  always  be  known  by  having  three  leaves 
in  a  bunch,  and  the  flowers  in  dense,  oblong  globular  heads. 
There  is  no  grass,  natural  or  artificial,  that  is  more  useful 
to  the  farmer  or  stock-grower,  than  Red  Clover.  It  has 
been  styled,  with  some  show  of  reason,  the  corner-stone  of 
agriculture,  and  tlis  not  only  on  account  of  its  vigorous 
vitality,  but  because  it  adapts  itself  to  a  great  variety  of 
soils.  It  is  widely  diffused,  and  abounds  in  every  part  of 
Europe,  in  North  America,  and  even  in  Siberia.  It  fur- 
nishes an  immense  amount  of  grazing,  yields  an  abundance 


116  THE   GRASSES   OF  TENNESSEE. 

of  nutritious  hay,  and  is  a  profitable  crop,  considered  with 
reference  to  the  seed  alone.  But  beyond  all  these,  it  acts  as 
a  vigorous  ameliorator  of  the  soil,  increasing  more  than  any 
other  forage  plant  the  amount  of  available  nitrogen,  and  so 
becomes  an  important  agent  in  keeping  up  the  productive 
rapacity  of  the  soil,  increasing  the  yield  of  other  crops,  and 
adding  to  the  wealth,  refinement  and  culture  of  the  farmer 
who  sows  it. 

SOILS   ADAPTED   TO   ITS   GROWTH. 

Red  Clover  is  a  biennial  plant,  and  under  judicious  till- 
age may  be  made  a  perennial,  and  is  specially  adapted  to 
argillaceous  soils,  but  it  will  grow  well  upon  sandy  soils, 
when  a  "  catch"  is  secured,  by  the  application  of  a  top- 
dressing  of  gypsum  or  barn-yard  manure.  I  have  seen  it 
growing  with  vigor  upon  the  feldspathic  soils  of  Johnson 
county,  upon  the  sandstone  soils  of  the  Cumberland  moun- 
tain, and  upon  the  sandy  loams  of  West  Tennessee,  but  it 
finds  a  more  congenial  soil  in  the  clayey  lands  of  the  valley 
of  East  Tennessee,  on  the  red  soils  of  the  Highland  Rim, 
and  on  the  limestone  loams  of  the  Central  Basin.  But  the 
deep,  black,  porous  soils  of  this  division  are  not  suited  for 
clover.  Such  soils  become  very  dry  in  summer,  and  opens 
in  great  cracks  or  fissures.  The  clover  grows  well  enough, 
but  is  apt  to  be  killed  by  the  dry,  hot  weather  of  summer. 

The  clayey  lands  of  West  Tennessee  have  no  superior  for 
the  production  of  clover.  It  often  grows  upon  these  lands 
from  four  to  five  feet  in  height,  and  forms  a  mat  when  it 
falls,  of  great  density  and  thickness.  As  much  as  four  tons 
of  clover  hay  have  been  taken  from  a  single  acre.  There 
is  also  a  soil  derived  from  the  Dyestone  or  Clinton  forma- 
tion in  East  Tennessee  that  grows  clover  with  surprising 
luxuriance.  On  such  soils  in  McMinn*  county,  I  have  seen 
the  ordinary  Red  Clover  six  and  a  half  feet  in  height. 
Probably  three-fourths  of  the  lands  in  Tennessee  will  grow 
clover  remuneratively,  and  of  the  soils  which  will  not,  a 
large  portion  is  included  in  the  old  gullied  fields  that  con- 


RED   CLOVER.  117 

stitute  the  shame  and  mark  the  shiftlessness  of  too  many  of 
the  farmers.  It  may  be  set  down  as  an  infallible  rale  in 
the  State  of  Tennessee,  that  good  farming  and  abundant 
clovering  go  together. 

SOWING    CLOVER. 

Clover  may  be  sown  in  the  latitude  of  Tennessee  upon 
wheat,  rye  or  oat  fields,  or  alone.  Instances  have  been  re- 
ported to  me  where  a  splendid  stand  was  obtained  by  sow- 
ing after  cultivators  in  the  last  working  of  corn  in  July. 
This  is  unusual,  however.  So  is  fall  sowing.  The  best 
time  to  sow  is  from  the  first  of  January  until  the  first  of 
April.  If  sown  in  January  or  February,  the  seed  ought  to 
be  sown  upon  snow.  This  is  not  only  convenient  in  ena- 
bling one  to  distribute  the  seed  evenly  over  the  land,  but 
the  gradual  melting  of  the  snow,  and  the  slight  freezes,  bury 
the  seed  just  deep  enough  to  ensure  rapid  germination  when 
the  warm  days  of  March  come  on.  For  the  same  reason,  if 
sown  in  March,  the  seed  ought  to  be  sown  when  the  ground 
is  slightly  crusted  by  a  freeze.  If  the  sowing  is  deferred 
until  too  late  for  frosty  nights,  the  land  should  be  well  har- 
rowed and  the  seed  sown  immediately  after  the  harrow. 
Upon  land  seeded  to  wheat,  this  harrowing  will  not  only 
serve  to  secure  a  good  stand  of  clover,  but  will  add  greatly 
to  the  yield  of  wheat.  It  will  hasten  germination 
and  cause  a  larger  proportion  of  seed  to  grow,  to  harrow 
the  land  after  the  seed  is  sown.  With  oats,  the  seeds 
should  be  sown  after  the  last  harrowing  or  brushing,  with  a 
slight  after-brushing  to  cover  them. 

It  often  happens  when  clover  seed  is  sown  with  wheat  or 
oats,  especially  if  the  land  be  much  worn,  that  a  "  catch" 
will  not  be  obtained.  The  practice  is  so  universal  through- 
out the  State,  of  sowing  clover  with  small  grain,  that  many 
farmers  labor  under  the  impression  that  this  is  the  only  way 
of  seeding  land  to  clover.  This  idea  is  erroneous.  A  bet- 
ter stand  of  clover  with  less  seed,  may  always  be  secured 
by  sowing  upon  land  prepared  for  clover  alone.  I  hav« 


118  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

often  obtained  an  excellent  catch  upon  "galled"  places,  by 
breaking  the  land  well,  and  sowing  the  seed  without  any 
previous  or  after  harrowing.  In  nine  cases  in  ten,  a  stand 
will  be  secured  in  this  way  upon  soils  where  clover  sown 
with  small  grain  will  fail  nine  cases  in  ten. 

The  quantity  of  seed  to  sow  per  acre  depends  upon  the 
character  of  the  soil,  its  state  of  pulverization,  and  also 
upon  the  fact  whether  the  land  has  ever  been  seeded  to 
clover.  Upon  good,  fresh,  rich  soils  where  clover  has  not 
previously  grown,  one  bushel  for  eight  acres  will  be  suffi- 
cient. If  the  soil  is  thin  and  unproductive,  one  bushel  for 
six  acres  ought  to  be  sown.  If  the  land  has  been  regularly 
rotated  with  clover,  one-half  the  quantity  of  seed  mentioned 
above  will  suffice,  sometimes  much  less.  Clover  seed  owing 
to  the  large  quantity  of  oil  which  it .  contains,  is  nearly  in- 
destructible when  placed  ten  or  twelve  inches  beneath  the 
surface.  I  once  purchased  a  field  which  had  been  cropped 
continuously  for  ten  years  without  rest,  and  almost  with- 
out any  rotation.  It  grew  a  crop  of  corn  the  year  before. 
I  purchased  it  in  February,  plowed  it  deeply  with  a  large 
three-horse  plow,  and  sowed  it  in  oats.  The  oat  crop  was 
excellent,  and  I  never  saw  clover  spring  up  so  thickly  upon 
any  land.  After  the  oats  were  harvested  the  clover  grew  to 
the  height  of  eighteen  inches,  and  covered  the  whole  field 
with  its  rich  mantle  of  green.  I  did  not  sow  one  seed  on 
it,  and  no  clover  had  been  permitted  to  grow  upon  it  from 
1859  to  1869,  the  year  I  seeded  it  to  oats. 

The  frequent  failure  to  secure  a  good  stand  of  clover  ad- 
monishes the  farmers  of  the  State  to  exercise  more  care  in 
the  seeding.  When  sown  late  in  the  spring  many  of  the 
seeds  sprout,  and  are  killed  by  dry  weather.  It  would  be 
all  the  better  if  the  clover  seed  could  be  buried  a  half-inch 
(or  even  an  inch  on  loose  soils)  beneath  the  surface  after  the 
middle  of  March.  The  common  practice  in  England,  is  to 
sow  not  only  clover,  but  all  other  grass  seeds,  with  oats  or 
barley,  in  spring.  After  the  seeds  are  sown  the  field  is  har- 


RED   CLOVER.  119 

rowed  and  afterwards  rolled,  so  as  to  cover  the  seeds  and 
smooth  the  surface1  of  the  field.  Farmers  are  often  too 
sparing  of  the  seed.  While  upon  well  prepared  soils  a 
bushel  to  eight  acres  is  sufficient,  yet  a  bushel  to  six  acres 
will,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  give  better  and  more  satisfac- 
tory results.  In  England  24  pounds  are  usually  sown  to 
the  acre  when  the  crop  is  intended  for  hay.  The  smaller 
the  stem  the  more  acceptable  it  is  to  cattle.  When  thin, 
the  woody  fibre  is  greatly  increased.  There  is  no  greater 
blunder  committed  by  the  farmer,  than  to  be  sparing  of 
grass  seed.  It  is  difficult  for  grass  to  be  too  thick.  The 
plants  shelter  one  another;  they  retain  all  the  dew  and 
moisture  when  thickly  set,  and  they  must  push  upward,  as 
there  is  no  lateral  space  to  occupy. 

GROWTH    AND   MANURE. 

Eed  Clover  rarely  makes  much  growth  the  first  season  if 
sown  with  grain.  Should  the  weather  be  very  seasonable 
after  harvest,  and  the  land  fertile,  it  will  sometimes  attain  the 
height  of  thirty  inches  and  put  out  blooms,  making  an 
excellent  fall  pasture.  When  sown  alone,  it  will  always 
blossom  in  August. 

Sheep  are  very  injurious  to  young  clover,  and  should  never 
be  allowed  to  run  on  it  until  the  second  year.  Grasshop- 
pers, too,  often  eat  out  the  crown  and  destroy  it.  Dry 
weather  in  a  stubble  field  where  the  rays  of  the  sun  are  re- 
flected and  repeated  a  thousand  times  from  the  surface  of  the 
yellow  stubble,  is  very  trying  to  its  vitality.  Yet  if  the 
land  has  been  well  and  deeply  broken  and  is  moderately 
fertile,  a  sufficient  stand  may  be  depended  upon. 

As  soon  as  it  begins  to  grow,  in  early  spring,  an  applica- 
tion of  two  bushels  of  gypsum  or  land  plaster,  upon  granitic 
or  sandy  soils,  is  absolutely  necessary  to  get  a  good  growth. 

Some  interesting  experiments  were  made  in  Germany  by 
Dr.  Pincus,  respecting  the  action  of  gypsum  (sulphate  of 
lime)  upon  clover.  Three  plats  of  land  of  about  f  of  an 


120 


THE    BRASSES    OF   TENNESSEE. 


acre  each,  were  selected  in  May,  from  the  middle  of  a  large 
clover  field.  The  plants  were  then  aoout  an  inch  high. 
One  of  the  plats  was  manured  with  128  Ibs.  of  gypsum,  the 
second  with  the  same  quantity  of  sulphate  of  magnesia,  and 
the  intervening  plat  was  left  without  the  application  of 
any  fertilizer. 

On  the  plat  treated  with  gypsum  the  clover  plants  soon 
showed  a  deeper  green  and  a  more  vigorous  growth.  The 
clover  on  the  unmanured  plat  bloomed  four  or  five  days 
earlier  than  on  the  manured.  On  the  manured  plats  the 
clover  was  in  full  flower  on  May  24,  when  it  was  mown. 
The  results  were  from  each  plat 

Cwt.  of  Clover  Hay. 

Without  manure 21.6 

With  gypsum 30. 6 

With  sulphate  of  magnesia 32.4 

It  was  ascertained  by  a  closer  examination,  that  the  in- 
crease in  weight  obtained  from  the  plats  manured  with  the 
sulphate  did  not  extend  equally  to  all  parts  of  the  plant, 
but  was  greatest  in  the  production  of  stems.  There  were 
fewer  leaves,  fewer  flowers,  but  more  stems  on  the  manured 
than  on  the  unmanured  portions.  Taking  100  parts  of  hay 
the  following  results  were  obtained  : 


"d 

£  % 

S 

l| 

ONE  HUNDRED  PARTS   OF   CLOVER  HAY. 

§    3 

!* 

| 

S-S'i 

P 

5 

cc  °  a 

Flowers          

17.15 

11.72 

12.16 

27.45 

26.22 

25.28 

Stems                             

55.40 

61.62 

63.0 

Or  putting  in  another  form 


o> 

$ 

. 

ONE   HUNDRED   PARTS   OF   CLOVER  HAY. 

Q 

i 

S 

i 

S 

QQ 

Clover  hay  unmanured       .  .       

17.15 

27.45 

55.40 

11.72 

26.  22! 

61.62 

Manured  with  sulnhate  of  masnesia.  . 

12.16 

25.28 

63.0 

RED   CLOVER. 


121 


This  shows  that  the  action  of  the  sulphates  increased  the 
woody  fibre  at  the  expense  of  the  flowers  and  leaves.  The 
relative  proportion  of  flowers,  leaves  and  stems  was  : 


1 

OQ 

1 

OQ 

o 

i 

qj 

K 

3 

OQ 

100 

160 

323 

"      manured  with  gypsum        .             

100 

216 

507 

''      manured  with  sulphate  of  magnesia  

100 

216 

538 

The  entire  crop  on  each  plat  was  as  follows : 


Unmanur'd 
Pounds. 

Manured 
with  gyp- 
sum. 
Pounds. 

Manured 
with  sul.  of 
magnesia. 
Pounds. 

Leaves  

592.9 

773.7 

849.5 

Stems     .  .         .         . 

1196  6 

1927.8 

1996.5 

Flowers  

370.5 

358.5 

394.0 

2110  Ibs. 

3060  Ibs. 

3240  Ibs 

The  ash  constituents  were  increased  in  the  same  propor- 
tion as  the  crop.  Phosphoric  and  sulphuric  acids  were 
much  increased  in  quantity  above  the  other  ash  constituents. 
The  ash  of  the  air-dry  clover  hay  was : 


Unmanur'd 

Manured 
with  gyp- 
sum. 

Manured 
with  suL  of 
magnesia. 

Per  cent  

6.95 

7.96 

7.94 

In  the  entire  crop  

150.     Ibs. 

243.     Ibs. 

257.      Ibs. 

Containing  sulphuric  acid 

2        " 

8        " 

6        " 

Containing  phosphoric  acid 

11  95  '• 

21  55  " 

21.82  " 

From  an  inspection  of  these  tables  it  will  readily  appear 
that  the  sulphates  checked  the  development  of  the  flowers 
and  also  of  seed.  A  larger  crop  of  leaves  and  stems  may 
be  secured  by  the  application  of  gypsum,  but  not  of  seed,  so 
that  an  application  of  gypsum  is  not  favorable  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  seed  crop,  but  well  suited  to  increase  the 


122  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

yield  of  hay.  Here,  as  is  often  seen  in  the  production  of 
wheat,  the  abnormal  development  of  straw  is  attended  with 
a  decrease  in  the  yield  of  seed. 

These  experiments  demonstrate  that  the  quantity  of  sul- 
phuric acid  applied  to  the  field,  bears  no  proportion  to  the 
increase  in  the  crop.  Baron  Liebig,  after  numerous  exper- 
iments made  with  gypsum  upon  clover,  comes  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  action  of  gypsum  is  very  complex ;  that  it 
indeed  promotes  the  distribution  of  both  magnesia  and  pot- 
ash in  the  soil.  He  thinks  that  gypsum  exercises  a  chemi- 
cal action  upon  the  soil,  which  extends  to  any  depth  of  it, 
and  that  in  consequence  of  the  chemical  and  mechanical 
modification  of  the  earth,  particles  of  certain  nutritive  ele- 
ments become  accessible  to  and  available  for  the  clover  plant, 
which  were  not  so  before. 

Though  having  my  mind  constantly  directed  to  this  point, 
I  have  rarely  found  an  application  of  gypsum  beneficial 
upon  clayey  loams,  but  its  effects  are  very  apparent  on 
strong  limestone  soils,  such  as  are  found  in  the  Central 
Basin.  On  the  chocolate-colored  soils  of  Warren,  Mont- 
gomery, Stewart  and  Robertson,  gypsum  benefits  clover 
very  little.  Upon  the  soils  of  the  Unaka  and  Cumberland 
mountains,  it  is  indispensable  to  secure  a  remunerative  yield 
of  foliage.  Red  Clover  has  two  growing  seasons.  It  make* 
its  most  vigorous  growth  from  the  first  of  April  until  the 
15th  of  June,  beginning  to  bloom  usually  in  the  central 
parts  of  the  State  about  the  15th  of  May,  and  attaining  its 
full  inflorescence  about  the  1st  of  June.  After  this,  unless 
depastured  by  stock  or  cut  for  hay,  the  heads  begin  to  dry 
up,  and  stems  and  leaves  begin  to  fall,  forming  a  mat  upon 
the  land.  Sometimes  this  mat  is  so  thick  as  to  catch  and 
concentrate  the  heats  of  summer  to  such  a  degree  as  to  scald 
the  roots  and  destroy  the  clover.  Usually  it  is  best  after 
clover  has  attained  its  full  bloom,  either  to  cut  it  for  hay  or 
pasture  with  stock  until  about  the  first  of  July.  When  the 
stock  is  removed,  or  the  clover  hay  cured  and  taken  off,  and 


RED     CLOVER.  123 

there  is  rain  enough,  a  second  crop  will  spring  up  from  the 
roots.  This  second  crop  is  the  most  valuable  for  seed,  the 
seed  maturing  about  the  last  of  August,  and  sooner,  if  there 
be  copious  rains.  To  make  the  most  abundant  yield  of  clo- 
ver for  grazing,  it  should  be  allowed  to  grow  all  it  will, 
but  never  let  it  make  seed,  always  grazing  it  down  when  in 
full  bloom.  When  grazed  down,  take  off  the  stock  until  ifc 
blooms  again.  Several  successive  crops  may  thus  be  made 
during  the  summer.  The  crop  of  August  is  unfit  for  graz- 
ing, the  large  quantity  of  seed  having  the  effect  of  salivat- 
ing stock  to  such  a  degree  as  to  cause  them  to  lose  flesh. 

It  is  a  fact,  well  attested  by  English  writers,  and  by  ob- 
servant farmers  of  this  country,  that  when  clover  has  been 
frequently  sown  upon  the  same  land,  it  not  only  fails  to 
produce  a  heavy  crop,  but  fails  to  appear  at  all.  The  land 
is  then  said  to  be  "  clover  sick."  The  remedy  for  this  is 
by  extending  the  number  of  crops  in  the  scale  of  rotation, 
so  that  clover  will  not  come  so  often  upon  the  same  land. 
By  Liebig,  clover- sick  land  is  supposed  to  be  caused  by  the 
roots  of  clover  impoverishing  the  subsoil. 

Mr.  Keene,  of  England,  ascribes  the  failure  of  crimson 
clover  in  that  country  to  the  fact  that  only  clean  seed  is  sown. 
He  thinks  the  seed  should  be  sown  in  the  pellicle,  which 
acts  as  a  protection  to  the  young  plant.  The -hint  is  worthy 
of  a  trial.  Many  farmers  believe  that  fewer  failures  to  get 
a  catch  occur  when  the  seed  is  sown  in  the  chaff. 

Clover  has  no  superior  as  a  grazing  plant.  When  in  full 
vigor  and  bloom,  it  will  carry  more  cattle  and  sheep  per 
acre  than  blue  grass,  herds  grass  or  orchard  grass.  After 
it  has  been  grazed  to  the  earth,  a  few  showery  days  with 
warm  suns  will  cause  it  to  spring  up  into  renewed  vitality  > 
ready  again  to  furnish  its  succulent  herbage  to  domestic  an- 
imals. Though  very  nutritious  and  highly  relished  by  cattle, 
it  often  produces  a  dangerous  swelling  called  hoven,  from 
which  many  cows  die.  When  first  turned  upon  clover,  cat- 
tle should  only  be  allowed  to  graze  for  an  hour  or  two,  and 


124  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

then  be  driven  off  for  the  remainder  of  the  day,  gradually 
increasing  the  time  of  grazing,  until  they  become  less  vora- 
cious in  tlieir  appetites,  never  permitting  them  to  run  upon 
clover  when  wet.  Clover  made  wet  by  a  rain  at  mid- 
day is  more  likely  to  produce  hoven  than  when  wet  by  dew* 
This  is  because  when  wet  by  rain  at  midday  or  after  the 
stalks  and  leaves  are  heated  by  the  sun,  when  taken 
into  the  stomach  of  a  cow,  this  heat  generates  fer- 
mentation much  sooner  than  when  the  herbage  is  cool, 
though  wet  with  the  morning  dew.  Cattle  are  more  easily 
affected  by  clover  than  horses,  because  being  ruminants, 
they  take  in  the  clover  rapidly,  filling  the  stomach  at  once, 
without  chewing.  Digestion  is  for  the  time  checked  and  a 
rapid  fermentation  sets  in.  The  remedy  found  most  effect- 
ive for  hoven  is  to  stick  a  sharp  pointed  knife  about  six 
inches  in  front  of  the  hip,  to  the  left  side  of  the  backbone, 
and  far  enough  from  it  to  miss  the  spinal  protuberances,  and 
in  the  thinnest  part  of  the  flank.  A  cow  should  never  be 
run  when  affected  with  hoven,  as  this  treatment  only  inten- 
sifies the  pain  without  affording  relief. 

Stock  should  never  be  turned  upon  clover  until  it  blooms 
The  practice  of  many  of  our  farmers,  to  turn  all  the  stock 
npon  a  clover  field  early  in  April,  is  very  destructive.  The 
crown  of  the  clover  is  eaten  out,  causing  it  to  perish.  The 
tread  of  heavy  cattle  has  the  same  effect. 

As  a  soiling  crop  Red  Clover  is  excelled  by  no  crop  grown 
within  the  State.  The  practice  of  soiling  in  thickly  set- 
tled communities  is  one  much  commended  by  agricultural 
writers.  An  half-acre  of  clover  will  supply  one  cow  through- 
out the  months  of  June,  July  and  August,  if  cut  off  and 
fed  in  a  stall,  while  twice  the  amount  in  pasture,  according 
to  some  English  experimenters,  will  barely  subsist  a  cow 
during  the  same  period,  and  this  will  depend,  of  course, 
upon  the  luxuriance  of  the  growth.  Soiling  (that  is  cut- 
ting the  grass  and  feeding  it  green)  is  a  very  desirable  prac- 
tice, near  small  towns,  where  many  persons  own  small 


BED     CLOVER.  125 

lots  and  desire  to  keep  a  milch  cow.     No  other  grass,  per- 
hapSj  will  produce  a  larger  flow  of  milk. 

NUTRITIVE  VALUE  AND  CONTITUENT  ELEMENTS  OF  CLOVER. 

The  ^nutritive  value  of  clover  was  long  known  by  feed- 
ers before  chemical  research  demonstrated  the  same  fact. 
It  contains,  when  cut  in  bloom,  nearly  4  per  cent,  more  ni- 
trogenous food  than  timothy,  and  four  and  a  half  per  cent, 
more  than  blue  grass.  According  to  Professors  Wolff  and 
Knop,  in  its  green  state  it  contains  800  parts  in  1,000,  of 
water ;  about  100  parts  more  than  timothy,  and  37  parts  in 
a  1,000  of  albuminoids  or  flesh  formers.  When  made  into 
hay,  cut  when  in  bloom  and  well  cured,  Eed  Clover  contains 
134  parts  in  1,000  of  albuminoids,  but  cut  when  fully  ripe 
only  94  parts.  The  albuminoids  contain  about  16  per  cent, 
of  nitrogen.  Timothy  hay  has  9.7  per  cent,  of  flesh-form- 
ing matter,  and  therefore  contains  less  nitrogen,  in  the  pro- 
portion of  15  to  21,  than  clover  hay.  Barley  has  10  per 
cent,  of  albuminoids,  Indian  corn  10.7,  rye  11,  oats  12, 
clover  13.4  per  cent.,  so  that  it  appears  clover  hay  will  fur- 
nish more  muscle-producing  or  nitrogenous  food  than  either 
corn,  rye,  oats  or  timothy,  which  gives  strength  to  the  state- 
ments of  many  practical  farmers,  that  a  crop  can  be  made 
by  feeding  clover  hay  alone  to  the  working  animals,  and 
they  will  keep  up  under  it. 

Prof.  Way  gives  the  following  analysis  of  the  Eed  Clover 
when  green : 

Water 81. 

Albuminoids 4.27 

Fatty  matter 69 

Heat  producing 8  45 

Woody  fibre ...  3.76 

Ash 1,82 

One  hundred  pounds  dried  at  212  F;,  gives  the  following: 

Albuminoids  or  flesh-formers 22.55 

Fatty  matter 3.67 

Heat-producers  (starch,  sugar,  gum,  etc.) 44.47 

Woody  fibre 19.75 

Ash 9.56 


126  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  analysis  of  clover  hay  made  by  Dr.  Pincns  in  the 
course  of  his  experiments,  though  differing  slightly  in  ita 
results  from  the  analyses  made  by  Wolff  and  Knop  and  Dr. 
Anderson,  is  far  more  interesting,  because  it  shows  the  rel- 
ative value  in  a  nutritive  point  of  view  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  plant.  The  analysis  is  given  in  the  subjoined 
table: 


BED   CLOVEB. 


127 


O  .fc~  CO  1C  C3    I  O        t-        O 
O  COOOO5TflrHO»OOS 

H        ^nB^d  aii^ng;    TH  05  i>  t^  co  !  o     o 

rH  C^          rH  CO 

=3  I  TH  O  10  Jb-  00    I  O         10         00 

2*  <N05THiOt-OCOO 

T  '  ^i  o  ^  o  cq  i  o   co 

H  rH    (M  TH  O    CO 

I  I  rH_ 

I  O  CO  10  TH  00  I  O    (M 

£-- t-  TH  t-  CO  O    rH 

O  CO  rH  OO  lO    O    TH 
iH  rH  rH  <N  CO  I  O    CO 
I  rH 

1O  1O  1O  TH  rH    I  O          1O 
P  ,OOi^-COCOTH|O^- 

rH  oo'  co  «  d     d      o*      « 

rH  CO          rH  CO        O          Tj<          ^ 
OM  I  t-  O  TH  rH  00        O          <P>          O 

O      j  cqt-050oc5oo 

fa  s     I  'iweid  aji;ug;   co  oJ  t>:  id  co 

rH  <?q          rH  CO 

PL,  5     ' L  ^ 

'cqoot-05Tii|o       co       co 

.  rHOTHlOt-        O          CO          «M 

PH    w       p  •<  'SjaAio^   cq  i>.  t-  os  co    o     co 

Qg  |rHrHTHTHJOCO 

^  Srt  I   »0  00  t-  1^  CO    I   O^       O          TjH 

PH     H        BS  T*  10  05  co  <o  I  o      o      10 

C^^       r*  a  'saABa^    TH  oq  o  TH  t^ 

I  rH  TH  rH  <M  CO 

H    Z       « 

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Q       S  p  O  TH  £~  TJH  co       O        t-.        IO 

<ri    o       3  'sraa^g   co  05  cd  T-H"  o'    d     o 

2         J  ^  °   I    rH   CO  TH   <N         O  •* 

s 

I10101OO1OIO         »O         <O 
05  00  05  t-  10       O 

c4  od  co  Tj5  co  ,  o 

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lococqosooio      t-      TH 

OCOC010COO         <?l         IO 

g  §  ^^"^iSS^T^T^      |8 

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pq     S  o  o  TH  o  co     o 

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P^  f~~i  IrHrHrHC^CO' 

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S3  h*.  ^  °.  ^  ^  '  ° 

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2  ^.S  8  S       S  «  2  - 

^^^Sa     H    fi 


128  THE   GEASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 

The  proportion  of  fat  in  the  various  vegetable  products  is 
given  in  the  following  table  taken  from  Prof.  S.  W.  John- 
son's "How  Crops  Grow": 


Fat. 

Turnip 0. 1  per  cent. 

Wheat  kernel 1.6 

Oat 1.6 

Indian  corn 7.0 

Pea 30 

Cotton  seed 34. 

Flax..  ..34. 


Fat. 

Meadow  grass 0.8  per  cent 

Red  Clover  (green) 0.7  " 

Meadow  hay 3.0  " 

Clover  hay 3.2  " 

Wheat  straw 1.5  u 

Oat  straw 2.0  " 

Wheat  Bran 1.5  " 

Potato,  Irish 0.3  " 

It  appears  from  this  table  that  clover  hay  has  not  quite 
one-half  the  fat  of  Indian  corn,  but  having  more  albumi- 
noids it  has  nearly  3  per  cent,  more  nitrogenous  food.  Both 
should  be  fed  together,  the  clover  to  give  muscle  and  the 
corn  to  give  fat.  It  also  appears  that  the  clover  hay  is 
richer  in  fat  than  meadow  hay. 

EFFECTS   OF  CLOVER  UPON    SOILS — MANURE   FOR. 

Numerous  facts  have  taught  the  farmers  of  every  country 
where  agriculture  has  flourished,  that  in  many  cases  the 
value  of  the  after  crop  depends  upon  the  preceding  crop. 
In  other  words,  a  proper  rotation  is  a  necessary  antecedent 
to  successful  farming.  The  cultivation  of  some  crop  with 
extensive  root  ramifications,  will  prepare  the  soil  for  the 
subsequent  growth  of  a  cereal.  But  the  farmer  should  not 
deceive  himself.  Every  crop  takes  away  a  part  of  the 
available  plant-food,  and  the  field  has  not  increased  in  fer- 
tility, but  the  plant-food  has  been  made  more  rigidly  effect- 
ive for  the  production  of  a  crop.  "The  physical  and  chem- 
ical condition  of  the  fields  has  been  improved,  but  the 
chemical  store  has  been  reduced."  "All  plants"  says  Lie- 
big,  "without  exception,  exhaust  the  soil,  each  of  them  in  its 
own  way,  of  the  conditions  for  their  reproduction." 

A  field,  then,  which  produces  more  kindly  after  rotation, 
is  not  necessarily  more  fertile,  but  is  in  better  physical  con- 
dition. It  has  already  been  mentioned,  that  the  mechanical 


129 

effects  of  clover  upon  soils  is  not  rthe  least  among  its  valua- 
ble properties.  The  reaction  rendered  possible  by  the  pen- 
etration into  the  soil  of  the  long  tap  roots,  and  the  effect  of 
the  dense  shade  upon  the  land  have  a  tendency  to  increase 
the  productiveness,  but  may  not  add  to  the  fertility  of  the 
soil. 

The  composition  of  the  ash  of  Red  Clover  is  variable,  de- 
pending upon  the  soils  upon  which  the  clover  grows,  and 
consists  of  potash,  soda,  magnesia,  lime,  phosphoric  acid, 
sulphuric  acid,  silica  and  chlorine.  Prof.  Ernil  Wolff,  of 
the  Royal  Academy  of  Agriculture,  at  Hohenheim,  Wir- 
temberg,  collected  all  trustworthy  analyses  of  the  clover 
plant,  in  all  fifty-six,  and  found  the  average  amount  of  ash 
in  air  dry  clover  to  be  6.72  per  cent.  In  the  ash  there 
were: 

Potash 34.5  per  cent. 

Soda 1.6  " 

Magnesia 12.2  " 

Lime 34.0  " 

Phosphoric  acid 9.9  " 

Sulphuric  acid 3.0  •' 

Silica 2.7  " 

Chlorine 3.7  u 

The  analysis  of  Red  Clover  indicates  what  manures  would 
increase  its  growth.  Sulphate  of  lime  or  land  plaster,  the 
phosphates,  wood  ashes,  are  all  excellent  top  dressings  for 
the  clover  field.  Common  stable  manure,  containing  as  it 
does  all  the  elements  of  a  good  fertilizer,  is  suitable  as  a 
top  dressing  for  any  pasture  or  meadow. 

Prof.  Levi  Stockbridge,  of  Massachusetts,  has  made  some 
interesting  experiments  at  the  Agricultural  College  at  Am- 
herst,  with  mineral  fertilizers,  on  nearly  all  the  field  crops 
and  grasses.  Making  a  careful  analysis  of  each  plant,  he 
prepares  formulas  for  fertilizers  suited  to  the  nature  and 
constitution  of  the  plant.  To  produce  one  ton  of  clover 
per  acre  more  than  the  natural  yield  of  the  soil  would  be, 
he  gives  the  following  formula  : 
9 


130  THE    GBAhSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 


Nitrogen 43  Ibs 

Potash 40  " 

Phosphoric  acid 11  " 


f  Sulph.  Ammonia,  24  per  cent 

dry  salt ...215  Ibs. 

in  the      !  Muriate  potash,  80  per  cent. 

form  of    ]  dry  salt  80  Ibs. 

Superphosphate,  18  percent, 
sol   acid . .  .80  Ibs. 


This  is  sown  over  the  clover  broadcast,  in  early  spring, 
I  suppose,  though  the  time  is  not  mentioned. 

Guano  is  also  found,  on  clayey  soils,  to  largely  increase 
the  growth  of  clover.  When  used  on  a  wheat  field  seeded 
to  clover  in  early  spring,  a  "catch"  of  clover  will  be  secured 
on  the  thinnest  spots,  and  grow  luxuriantly.  The  greatest 
benefits  from  an  application  of  guano  upon  wheat  are  often 
obtained  in  this  way.  A  good  stand  of  clover,  however 
secured,  is  the  best  possible  preparation  of  land  for  a  suc- 
ceeding crop  of  wrheat.  And  this  arises  not  only  from  the 
available  nitrogen  which  a  clover  crop  supplies,  but  from 
the  deep  and  thorough  subsoiling  which  is  effected  by  the 
deep,  penetrating  tap-roots  of  the  clover.  They  often  de- 
scend to  the  depth  of  four  feet  in  search  of  food,  while  its 
broad  leaves  "  absorb  carbon  from  the  atmosphere,  changing 
it  into  solid  matter,  and  causing  elements  in  the  soil  to  as- 
sume organic  forms,  rendering  them  more  available  as  food 
for  other  crops."  If  the  soil  be  robbed  of  its  fertility,  the 
deficient  elements  must  be  added  before  clover  will  "take." 

As  clover  derives  or  is  supposed  to  derive  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  constituents  necessary  to  its  growth  from  the 
atmosphere,  it  is  all  important  that  there  should  be  a  good 
top  growth.  Its  value  as  a  renovator  of  the  soil  depends 
largely  upon  the  quantity  of  the  roots,  and  the  roots  will 
always  be  proportioned  to  the  amount  of  top.  For  this  rea- 
son it  is  better  to  cut  clover  off  than  to  feed  it  off.  A 
writer  in  the  American  Cultivator,  speaking  of  this  subject, 
gays: 

"  Where  a  clover  sod  is  desired  for  future  grain  or  other 
crop,  it  will  be  found  that  the  cutting  of  clover  is  generally 
better  than  feeding  it  off,  because  every  leaflet  upward  has 


BED   CLOVER.  131 

rootlet  downwards,  and  if  a  leaflet  be  taken  off  the  rootlet 
will  not  grow,  so  that  if  sheep  or  pigs  be  fed  upon  the  sur- 
face, the  constant  cropping  of  the  leaves  diminishes  the 
under  production.  Always  feeding  the  top  will  leave  but 
few  roots  below.  This  was  illustrated  by  a  practical  expe- 
riment on  a  field  of  clover,  divided  into  two  parts.  The 
whole  was  cut  in  July;  half  was  left  to  grow  again,  and  the 
other  half  fed  off.  In  October  the  roots  of  each  division 
were  dug  up,  carefully  cleaned  and  weighed,  with  a  result 
that  showed  a  proportionate  weight  of  3,920  pounds  to  the 
acre  where  the  clover  was  cut  once  and  fed  afterwards, 
while  the  part  on  which  the  clover  was  cut  twice  yielded  at 
a  rate  per  acre  of  nearly  8,000  pounds  of  roots.  The  system 
of  cutting  instead  of  feeding  resulted  in  leaving  two  tons 
extra  of  vegetable  matter,  valuable  in  nitrogen,  and  which 
had  a  perceptible  effect  on  the  corn  crop  that  followed." 

The  best  method  of  pasturing  is  to  wait  until  about  the 
last  of  May,  when  the  clover  is  in  bloom,  then  turn  on 
stock  and  pasture  during  the  months  of  June  and  July,  al- 
ternating every  two  weeks  with  other  clover  fields,  if  pos- 
sible, and  turning  off  the  stock  the  first  of  August  and  al- 
lowing the  second  crop  to  come  forward  for  seed. 

SAVING   CLOVER   HAY. 

The  saving  of  clover  hay  is  a  very  easy  task  when  under 
stood,  but  to  a  novice  it  appears  fraught  with  insuperable  dif- 
ficulties. The  precise  period  for  mowing  clover  for  hay  is  a 
question  about  which  there  has  been  much  discussion.  All 
will  agree  that  it  should  be  mowed  at  the  time  when  the 
nutritive  elements — those  elements  which  give  strength 
and  produce  flesh — are  at  their  maximum.  Those  who  are 
in  the  habit  of  feeding  stock  find  that  clover  cut  about  the 
time  of  full  bloom,  when  a  few  of  the  seeds  begin  to  djey  up, 
and  just  as  the  reproductive  functions  are  being  brought  into 
play  for  the  maturing  of  seed,  will,  pound  for  pound,  pro- 
duce more  fat  and  muscle  than  that  cut  at  any  other  time. 
The  only  art  in  curing  hay  is  to  retain  as  many  of  the  life- 


132  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

giving  constituents  in  it  as  possible,  or   to   preserve   it   as 
.  near  as  practicable  in  the  same  condition  in  which  it  is  cut, 
with  the  water  only  abstracted. 

The  plan  generally  adopted  is  to  mow  the  clover  in  the 
morning  and  let  it  lie  in  the  sun  several  hours  until  a  wisp 
taken  up  and  twisted  will  show  no  exudation  of  moisture. 
It  is  then  thrown  up  into  small  cocks,  say  four  feet  in 
diameter  and  four  feet  high.  In  these,  unless  there  is  ap- 
pearance of  rain,  it  is  allowed  to  remain  for  a  day  or  two, 
when  it  may  be  hauled  to  the  barn  and  stored  away  with- 
out danger  of  damage.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  let  the 
dew  fall  upon  it  as  it  lies  scattered  by  the  mower.  The 
dew  of  one  single  night  will  blacken  the  leaves  and  destroy 
the  aroma  for  which  good  clover  hay  is  so  much  prized. 

Another  plan  practiced  is  to  mow  it  and  let  it  lie  just 
long  enough  in  the  sun  to  wilt,  and  then  wagon  it  to  an  open 
house  and  lay  it  upon  beams  or  tier-poles,  where  it  can 
receive  the  free  action  of  the  air.  After  a  few  days  it  may 
be  packed  down  without  any  danger  of  fermenting.  Cured 
in  this  way,  in  the  shade,  it  retains  its  green  color,  is  fra- 
grant, and  makes  a  most  excellent  feed.  The  only  objection 
to  this  plan  is  the  great  amount  of  room  under  cover  re- 
quired for  curing,  and  the  additional  burthen  of  hauling 
while  green. 

Another  plan  is  to  haul  it  up  as  soon  as  it  wilts,  using 
about  half  a  bushel  of  salt  to  the  cured  ton  of  hay.  A  layer 
a  foot  or  more  in  thickness  may  be  laid  down,  over  which 
salt  is  scattered  pretty  freely,  then  another  layer  and  salt, 
continuing  to  repeat  the  operation  until  the  space  set  apart 
for  hay  is  filled.  A  rapid  fermentation  will  ensue,  and  the 
hay  will  be  cured  by  the  heat  of  this  fermentation,  the  salt 
acting  as  a  preventive  against  putrefaction.  Instead  of 
salt,  layers  of  wheat  straw  can  be  substituted.  By  using 
straw  the  clover  may  be  put  up  in  the  field.  The  quantity 
of  straw  to  be  used  in  the  rick  or  stack  depends  upon  the 
moisture  in  the  clover — the  greener  the  clover  the  thicker 


EED   CLOVER.  133 

should  be  the  straw.  The  straw  will  act  as  an  absorbent, 
and  during  the  process  will  itself  be  greatly  increased  in 
value  as  food  for  stock,  having  imparted  to  it  the  flavor  and 
aroma  of  the  clover  plant.  All  the  wheat  straw  on  a  farm 
could  be  utilized  in  this  way,  and  the  amount  of  manure  in 
the  farmer's  barn  largely  increased. 

Still  another  method  of  curing  clover  hay  is  the  one 
practiced  in  Ireland.  By  this  method  the  hay  is  also 
cured  by  self  fermentation.  Cured  in  this  way  it  retains  all 
its  nutritive  properties  and  only  parts  with  its  water.  The 
sap  vessels  are  by  this  process  supposed  to  be  expanded  by 
the  circulation  of  the  liquid  juices  by  heat,  and  the  super- 
fluous moisture  exhaled.  On  cooling,  the  sap  vessels  con- 
tract, and  thus  future  inner  fermentation  is  prevented  and 
the  nutritive  elements  preserved.  The  Irish  Farmers' 
Journal,  in  giving  an  account  of  this  process  of  curing 
clover  hay,  says : 

"  The  clover  intended  for  hay  is  mown  and  left  to  lie  in 
the  swath  until  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following 
day  to  dry.  Of  course  these  swaths  are  twelve  or  eighteen 
inches  thick.  They  are  then  raked  together  in  small  shocks 
which  are  afterwards  made  into  larger  ones,  such  as  would 
require  six  or  eight  horses  to  draw.  Two  or  more  men  are 
kept  upon  the  large  ones  tramping  them  down,  so  as  to  make 
them  more  compact  and  induce  a  more  speedy  fermenta- 
tion. If  the  weather  is  warm,  fermentation  will  begin  in 
a  few  hours,  as  will  be  known  by  the  honey-like  smell. 
When  a  proper  fermentation  has  begun,  the  cocks,  on  being 
opened,  will  appear  brownish  and  may  be  spread.  After 
drying  it  may  be  carried  to  the  hay  loft  without  any  dan- 
ger of  a  second  fermentation." 

It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  clover  hay  will 
not  shed  rain.  When  stacked  out  in  the  'field,  it  should 
either  be  thatched  or  have  a  thick  top-covering  of  wheat 
straw  or  other  hay.  The  tedder  is  thought  by  many  to  be 
indispensable  in  saving  good  clover  hay.  Unquestionably 


134 


THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 


it  is  of  great  service,  and  the  hay  made  by  the  use  of  the 
tedder  in  dry,  hot  weather,  is  superior  to  that  made  without, 
but  good  hay  can  be  and  is  made  by  many  farmers  who 
never  saw  a  tedder.  Clover  hay  is  more  difficult  to  cure 
than  hay  from  any  of  the  real  grasses,  and  this  arises  from 
the  fact  that  it  contains  more  water  than  other  grasses,  in 
the  proportion  of  8  to  7.  For  this  reason  also,  it  is  more 
difficult  to  keep,  being  more  liable  to  heat  in  the  mow. 
It  will  not  bear  handling  or  transportation,  and  while  it 
will  always  be  a  favorite  hay  for  home  consumption,  it  will 
never  be  valuable  for  market  purposes.  For  horses,  good 
grass  hay  is  probably  better  than  clover,  because  it  is  more 
digestible,  and  is  not  so  liable  to  produce  colic.  On  the 
other  hand,  clover  is  a  superior  hay  for  cattle,  producing  in 
milk  cows  a  fine  flow  of  milk. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  analyses  made  by 
Wolff,  Knop  and  Way,  will  exhibit  the  comparative  value 
of  clover  and  grass  hays : 


SUBSTANCE 

1 

O  M 

•3  t> 

|i 

1 

Albumi- 
noids 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

II 

O 

1 
1 

Red  Clover  in  bloom 

T6.7 
16.7 
16.7 
167 
16.7 
14.3 
143 
14.3 

77.1 
77.7 
74.8 
75  0 
78.3 
81.1 
81.2 
80.6 

6.2 
5.6 
8.5 
f  3 
5.0 
4.6 
4.5 
5.1 

134 
9.4 
14.9 
15.3 
10.2 
11.6 
9.7 
8.9 

29  9 
20.3 
34  3 
39  2 
23.1 
40  7 
48.8 
39.1 

35.8 
48.0 
25  6 
30.5 
45.0 
28.9 
32.7 
32.6 

3.2 
2.0 

35 
3.3 
2.5 
2.7 
3.0 

m 

««         "         ripe  

White  " 

Alcike  '  '     in  bloom     

"       4li      ripe  .  . 

Orchard  grass 

Timothy                .               .          *  . 

Kentucky  blue  grass  .  . 

SAVING   CLOVER  SEED. 

,  It  has  often  been  a  matter  of  surprise  that  Tennessee 
farmers  have  not  more  generally  saved  their  clover  seed. 
The  amount  of  money  yearly  paid  out  for  an  article  which 
is  now  considered  a  prime  necessity  to  good  farming,  has 
been  estimated  to  be  more  than  $250,000  annually.  Were 
the  lands  of  Tennessee  incapable  of  producing  clover  seed, 


RED   CLOVER.  135 

there  would  be  reason  for  this  expenditure.  In  point  of 
fact,  however,  no  section  of  the  Union  will  produce,  acre 
for  acre,  a  larger  quantity  of  clover  seed.  Three  bushels 
per  acre  have  often  been  gathered,  although  the  usual 
average  is  about  one  and  a  half  bushels. 

As  the  first  crop  of  clover,  coming  to  maturity  in  June, 
will  not  perfect  its  seed,  it  is  necessary  to  take  off  the  first 
crop,  either  by  feeding  or  by  mowing  for  hay,  and  rely  for 
the  seed  upon  the  after  crop.  The  quantity  of  seed  of  this 
crop  will  depend  much  upon  the  weather.  Should  there  be 
much  rain  or  heavy  winds,  the  yield  of  seed  will  be  small, 
but  when  the  weather  has  been  fine  and  calm  and  the  seed 
free  from  clock  or  other  noxious  seeds,  the  crop  will  be  found  as 
remunerative  as  any  other  grown  by  the  farmer.  A  bushel 
of  clover  seed  will  weigh  usually  about  64  pounds,  though 
60  pounds  is  the  standard  bushel  in  market. 

The  second  crop  of  clover  should  be  allowed  to  stand 
until  the  husks  have  becone  quite  brown  and  the  seeds  have 
passed  the  milky  state.  It  should  then  be  mowed  and  per- 
mitted to  lie  upon  the  ground  until  it  is  well  cured.  After 
it  is  cured  rake  it  up  into  swaths.  Rain  will  rather  benefit 
than  injure  it,  making  it  easier  to  separate  the  heads  from 
the  haulm,  which  is  done  by  passing  through  an  ordinary 
wheat  separator.  A  clover  huller  attachment-is  adjusted  to 
the  separator  below  the  vibrator,  which  hulls  the  seeds, 
and  they  are  separated  from  the  chaff  by  the  fan,  care  being 
taken  to  shut  off-  as  much  air  as  possible  by  closing  the 
sliding  doors. 

The  crop  of  seed  can  be  largely  increased  by  mowing  or 
feeding  off  the  first  crop  of  clover  about  the  first  of  June, 
and  then  top-dressing  with  stable  manure.  The  earlier  the 
first  crop  is  cut  the  larger  will  be  the  crop  of  seed.  By 
treating  the  clover  fields  in  this  way,  as  much  as  three 
bushels  of  seed  have  been  obtained  from  an  acre.  Uplands 
will  yield  more  seed  than  bottom  lands,  but  they  should  be 
enriched  by  a  liberal  application  of  manure.  About  the 


136  THE    GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

first  of  September  is  the  time  to  mow  for  seed,  and  the 
straw  will  thresh  all  the  better  for  being  exposed  to  the 
weather  for  three  weeks.  The  threshing  is  usually  done  in 
the  field,  though  the  haulm  may  be  hauled  up  alter  being 
thoroughly  dry,  and  staqked  with  a  good  straw  covering, 
or  else  stored  away  under  shelter  on  a  good  tight  floor 
until  it  suits  the  convenience  of  the  farmer  to  thresh.  Care 
should  be  taken  not  to  run  over  or  tramp  upon  the  clover 
after  it  is  dried,  as  many  seeds  are  thus  shelled  out  and 
lost.  The  better  plan  is  to  haul  to  the  thresher  just  as  soon 
as  the  straw  is  in  a  proper  condition  to  thresh.  This  will 
save  the  trouble  and  expense  of  stacking. 

Mr.  J.  K.  P.  Wallace,  writing  from  Anderson  county  to 
the  Rural  Sun,  thus  describes  the  method  in  use  in  that 
county : 

"  We  take  a  six  or  eight  horse  (the  latter  the  better) 
power  lever  threshing  machine,  and  attach  to  it  the  ordinary 
box,  that  is,  such  as  does  not  have  the  grain-cleaning  ap- 
paratus, because  this  would  fan  seed  and  all  away.  We 
first  run  the  clover  straw  through,  which  takes  all  the  seeds 
off  and  thoroughly  tears  up  the  heads.  Then  we  plank  up 
the  (box)  machinery,  leaving  a  small  opening  in  front  of 
the  cylinder,  say  six  or  seven  inches  square,  and  leave  a 
smaller  one  at  the  opposite  upper  corner  at  the  rear  of  the 
cylinder.  Then  with  a  small  handled  paddle  we  feed  the 
threshed-off  heads  through  again.  The  seeds  are  then 
thoroughly  hulled,  ready  for  the  fanning  mill.  Every  fifth 
bushel  is  taken  by  the  threshers  as  toll.  A  thresher  of  this 
kind  will  thresh  and  hull  from  five  to  seven  bushels  per 
day." 

With  the  separators,  one  bushel  in  three  is  taken  for 
toll. 

Some  farmers  prefer  to  sow  in  the  chaff,  believing  that  a 
better  stand  of  clover  is  thus  secured.  Usually  about 
thirty  bushels  in  the  chaff  are  considered  equivalent  to  one 
of  cleaned  seed.  Of  course  this  will  depend  greatly 


RED   CLOVER.  137 

upon  the  yield  of  seed,  and  experiments  ought  to  be  made 
to  determine  the  relative  amount  to  sow  when  in  chaff 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  and  one,  I  believe,  first  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Darwin,  that  the  bumble  bee  plays  an  important  part 
in  the  fertilization  of  this  plant.  Careful  observation  will 
no  doubt  reveal  the  fact  that  the  amount  of  clover  seed 
gathered  from  a  particular  field  will,  other  things  being 
equal,  be  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  bumble  bees  that 
feed  upon  the  flowers.  In  the  act  of  feeding  they  gather  the 
pollen  from  one  flower  and  transfer  it  to  the  next  one  upon 
which  they  alight,  thus  acting  as  important  agents  in  the 
fructification  of  the  flower,  and  consequently  in  increasing 
the  production  of  seed. 

CLOVER  AS   A  PREPARATORY   CROP   FOR    WHEAT. 

No  question  at  the  present  day  pertaining  to  agriculture 
is  more  deeply  interesting  to  the  farmers  of  Tennessee  than 
how  to  increase  the  yield  of  the  wheat  crop  per  acre,  for 
upon  this  depends  the  profits  of  this  standard  crop,  one 
probably  more  generally  grown  in  the  State  than  any  other. 
It  has  long  been  noted  that  a  soil  well  suited  to  clover  is 
generally  well  adapted  to  wheat,  but  not  until  the  pains- 
taking investigations  of  Dr.  Voelcker,  of  England,  was  the 
fact  established  that  the  clover  plant,  by  increasing  the 
amount  of  available  nitrogen  in  the  surface  soil,  is  the  very 
best  fore-runner  for  wheat,  unlocking,  as  it  were,  the  ele- 
ments in  the  soil  necessary  to  a  full  and  perfect  develope- 
ment  of  the  wheat  crop. 

Prof.  Way  has  established  the  fact  that  the  carbonate  of 
ammonia  of  rain-water  and  of  manures  are  so  absorbed  and 
so  firmly  fixed  by  the  soil  that  no  free  ammonia  can  be 
present  in  it.  Neither  pure  nor  carbonic  acid  water  can 
extract  this  fixed  ammonia  from  the  soil.  It  must  be  ex- 
tracted by  the  roots  of  plants.  A  plant,  therefore,  with  ex- 
tensive root  ramifications,  such  as  clover,  will  extract  a 
much  larger  quantity  than  those  plants  with  feebler  roots. 


138  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  clover  roots  bring  this  ammonia  or  nitrogen  to  the 
surface,  and  on  their  decay  these  nitrogenous  matters  are 
converted  into  nitrates  in  which  the  wheat  plant  finds  a 
most  congenial  food.  In  addition  to  this,  the  leaves  formed 
by  clover  contain  a  large  amount  of  nitrogenous  matter,  and 
these  are  dropped  upon  the  surface,  increasing  the  amount 
of  nitrogen  available  for  wheat  or  other  crops. 

A  synopsis  of  Professor  Voelcker's  article  on  the  causes 
of  the  benefit  of  clover  as  a  preparatory  crop  for  wheat, 
cannot  fail  to  be  interesting.  Prof.  Voelcker,  writing  in 
1869, says: 

It  is  well  known  to  most  practical  farmers  that  if  they  can  succeed 
in  growing  a  good  crop  of  clover  they  are  almost  certain  to  get  a  good, 
paying  crop  of  wheat.  You  see  how  all  agricultural  matters  depend 
upon  each  other.  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  very  best 
preparation — the  very  best  manure,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  thus  ex- 
press myself,  is  a  good  crop  of  clover.  Now,  at  first  sight,  nothing 
seems  more  contradictory  than  to  say  you  can  remove  a  very  large 
quantity  of  both  mineral  and  organic  food  from  the  soil  and  yet  make 
it  more  productive,  as  in  the  case  of  clover.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  fact 
the  larger  the  amount  of  mineral  matter  you  remove  in  a  crop  of  clover, 
and  the  larger  the  amount  of  nitrogen  which  is  carried  off  in  clover  hay 
the  richer  the  land  becomes.  Now,  here  is  really  a  strange  chemical 
anomoly  which  cannot  be  discarded  and  invites  our  investigation,  and 
it  is  an  investigation  which  has  occupied  my  attention,  I  may  say,  for 
more  than  ten  years. 

This  clover  investigation  has  very  much  interested  me,  but  only 
during  the  last  season  have  I  been  able  to  bring  it  to  anything  like  com- 
pletion, so  as  thoroughly  to  explain  the  strange  anomoly  that  is  pre- 
sented to  us  in  the  growth  of  clover  as  a  preparatory  crop  for  wheat. 
The  explanation  is  very  simple  though  puzzling  when  you  know  not 
the  chemical  points  that  are  involved  in  the  investigation.  I  cannot 
deny  myself  the  gratification  of  showing  you  a  few  figures  that  in  a 
thoroughly  chemical  point  of  view,  show  that  clover  is  the  most  ex- 
haustive crop  that  you  can  possibly  grow,  while  in  a  thorough  practical 
point  of  view  it  is  the  most  restorative  crop  and  the  best  preparative 
crop  for  wheat  that  you  can  possibly  grow. 

Now  if  we  examine  what  is  taken  from  the  land  in  the  shape  of 
clover,  we  shall  find  that,  assuming  an  acre  of  land  to  four  tons  of 
clover  hay,  these  four  tons  of  clover  hay  will  remove  672  pounds  of 
mineral  constituents,  and  not  less  than  224  pounds  of  nitrogen  which 


EED   CLOVER.  139 

is  equal  to  272  pounds  of  ammonia.  Four  tons  of  clover  hay,  the  pro- 
duce of  one  acre,  must  contain  a  large  amount  of  nitrogen,  and  remove 
from  the  soil  a  large  quantity  of  mineral  matters  abounding  in  lime, 
potash  and  also  much  phosphoric  acid.  Now  comparing  what  is  re- 
moved by  a  crop  of  wheat,  we  find  that  in  a  clover  crop  we  remove 
fully  three  times  as  much  of  mineral  matter,  and  a  great  deal  more — 
six  times  as  much  I  believe — as'  we  do  in  a  crop  of  wheat.  The  total, 
to  give  the  exact  figures,  of  mineral  matter  removed  in  an  average  crop 
of  wheat  amounts  ts  175  pounds  per  acre. 

Assuming  the  grain  of  wheat  to  furnish  1. 78  per  cent  of  nitrogen, 
and  wheat  straw  .64  per  cent.,  and  assuming  also  that  1500  pounds  of 
wheat  and  3000  pounds  of  straw  represent  the  average  produce  per  acre, 
there  will  be  hi  the  grain  of  wheat  per  acre  26. 7  pounds  of  nitrogen, 
and  in  the  straw  19.2  pounds,  or  in  both  together  46  pounds  of  nitrogen, 
in  round  numbers  equal  to  about  55  pounds  of  ammonia,  which  is  only 
about  one-fifth  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  in  the  produce  of  an  acre  of 
clover. 

Wheat,  it  is  well  known,  is  especially  benefitted  by  the  application 
of  nitrogenous  manures,  and  as  clover  carries  off  so  large  a  quantity  of 
nitrogen  it  is  natural  to  expect  the  yield  of  wheat  after  clover  to  fall 
short  of  what  the  land  might  be  presumed  to  produce  without  manure 
before  a  crop  of  clover  was  taken  from  ,  it.  Experience,  however,  has 
proved  the  fallacy  of  this  presumption,  for  the  result  is  exactly  the 
opposite,  inasmuch  as  a  better  and  heavier  crop  of  wheat  is  produced 
than  without  the  intercalation  of  clover. 

I  believe  that  a  vast  amount  of  mineral  manure  is  brought  within  the 
reach  of  the  corn  (wheat)  crop  by  growing  clover.  It  is  rendered  avail- 
able to  the  roots  of  the  corn  crop.  Clover,  by  means  of  its  long  roots, 
penetrates  a  large  mass  of  soil.  It  gathers  up,  so  to  speak,  the  phos- 
phoric acid  and  the  potash  which  are  disseminated  throughout  a  large 
portion  of  the  soil ;  and  when  the  ground  is  plowed  the  roots  are  left 
in  the  surface,  and  in  decaying  they  leave  in  an  available  condition  the 
mineral  substances  which  the  wheat  plant  requires  to  enable  it  to 
grow. 

Although  in  clover  hay  these  manurial  matters  are  removed  in  great 
quantity,  yet  the  store  of  mineral  food  that  we  have  in  six  or  twelve 
inches  of  soil  is  so  great  that  it  is  utterly  insignificant  in  comparison 
with  what  remains.  In  other  words,  the  quantity  of  mineral  matter 
which  is  rendered  available  and  fit  for  use  for  the  succeeding  wheat 
crop  is  very  much  larger  than  the  quantity  which  is  removed  in  clover 
hay. 

But  the  accumulation  of  nitrogen  after  the  growth  of  clover  in  the 
soil  is  very  large.  Even  when  the  clover  crop  is  insignificant,  a  large 


140  THE   GEASSES    OF   TENNESSEE. 

quantity  of  nitrogen,  amounting  to  tons,  is  accumulated  in  the  surface 
soil,  and  the  better  the  clover  crop  the  greater  is  the  accumulation  of 
nitrogen.  In  one  of  my  experiments  I  tried  to  determine  the  amount  of 
nitrogen  which  is  left  in  the  portion  of  a  field  where  the  clover  was 
comparatively  poor,  and  I  fonnd  that  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  in  that  field, 
(for  it  had  a  considerable  declivity),  where  the  clover  was  weak  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  per  acre  was  1  ton,  llrcwt.,  99  Ibs,  while  at  the 
bottom  of  the  hill  where  the  clover  was  stronger,  there  being  more  soil, 
it  was  2  tons,  2  cwt.  and  61  Ibs.  Observe  too,  that  at  the  bottom  of 
the  hill  the  wheat  was  always  better.  Now  it  is  in  virtue,  I  believe,  of 
this  nitrogen  that  the  wheat  grew  so  much  more  luxuriantly. 

Dr.  Voelcker,  in  his  very  able  article,  sums  up  the  con- 
clusions at  which  he  arrived  in  the  following  words  : 

1.  A  good  crop  of  clover  removes  from  the  soil  more  potash,  phos- 
phoric acid,  lime,  and  other  mineral  matters,  which  enter  into  the  com- 
position of    the  ashes  of  our  cultivated  crops,  than  any  other  crop 
usually  grown  in  this  country. 

2.  There  is  fully  three  times  as  much  nitrogen  in  a  crop  of  clover  as 
in  the  average  produce  of  the  grain  and  straw  of  wheat  per  acre. 

3.  Notwithstanding  the  large  amount  of  nitrogenous  matter  and  of 
ash-constituents  of  plants  in  the  produce  of  an  acre,  clover  is  an  ex- 
cellent preparatory  crop  for  wheat. 

4.  During  the  growth  of  clover  a  large  amount  of  nitrogenous  mat- 
ter accumulates  in  the  soil. 

5.  This  accumulation,  which  is  greatest  in  the  surface-soil,  is  due  to 
decaying  leaves  dropped  during  the  growth  of  clover,  and  to  an  abun- 
dance of  roots,  containing  when  dry  from  If  to  2  per  cent,  of  nitrogen. 

6.  The   clover  roots  are  stronger  and  more  numerous,    and  more 
leaves  fall  on  the  ground  when  clover  is  grown  for  seed,  than  when  it 
is  mown  for  hay ;  in  consequence  more  nitrogen  is  left  after  clover 
seed  than  after  hay,  which  accounts  for  wheat  yielding  a  better  crop 
after  clover  seed  than  after  hay. 

7.  The  development  of  roots  being  checked  when  the  produce,  in  a 
green  condition,  is  fed  oil'  by  sheep,  in  all  probability  leaves  still  less 
nitrogenous  matter  hi  the  soil  than*  when  clover  is  allowed  to  get  riper 
and  is  mown  for  hay ;  thus,  no  doubt,  accounting  for  the  observation 
made  by  practical  men  that,  notwithstanding  the  return  of  the  produce 
in  the  sheep  excrements,  wheat  is  generally  stronger  and  yields  better 
after  clover  mown  for  hay  than  when  the  clover  is  fed  off  green  by 
eheep. 

8.  The  nitrogenous  matters  in  the  clover-remains  on  their  gradual 
decay  are  finally  transformed  into  nitrates,  thus  affording  a  continuous 


EED   CLOVEE.  141 

source  of  food,  on  which  cereal  crops  specially  delight  to  grow. 

9.  There  is  a  strong  presumptive  evidence  that  the  nitrogen  which 
exists  in  the  air  in  the  shape  of  ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  and  that  which 
descends  in  these  combinations  with  the  rain  which  falls  on  the  ground, 
satisfies,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  the  requirements  of  the  clover 
crop.     This  crop  causes  a  large  accumulation  of  nitrogenous  matters, 
which  are  gradually  changed  in  the  soil  into  nitrates.     The  atmosphere 
thus  furnishes  nitrogenous  food  to  the  succeeding  wheat  indirectly, 
and,  so  to  say,  gratis. 

10.  Clover  not  only  provides  abundance  of  nitrogenous  food,   but 
delivers  this  food  in  a  readily  available  form  (as  nitrates)  more  grad- 
ually and  continuously,  and  consequently  with  more  certainty  of  a  good 
result,  than  such  food  can  be  applied  to  the  land  in  the  shape  of  nitro- 
genous spring  top-dressings. 

I  have  thus  given  a  larger  space  to  clover  than  to  any 
other  grass,  natural  or  artificial,  because  I  believe  it  is  the 
most  important  plant  that  can  engage  the  attention  of 
Tennessee  farmers,  not  only  valuable  in  itself,  but  prepar- 
ing the  land  for  crops  that  bring  the  highest  price  in  the 
market.  Upon  whatever  farm  clover  is  grown  in  regular 
rotation,  there  will  be  found  abundant  crops,  fat  stock  and 
improved  husbandry.  It  is  the  main  pillar  of  Tennessee 
agriculture,  and  it  is  worse  than  folly  to  attempt  to  make 
farming  pay  for  any  number  of  years  without  it.  A  farmer 
who  is  too  poor  to  sow  clover  seed  is  too  poor  to  own  a 
farm,  and  however  great  may  be  his  exertions  (unless  with- 
in reach  of  a  large  town  where  manures  are  abundant)  if  he 
does  not  sow  clover  he  is  doomed  to  a  hopeless  poverty. 


142  THE    GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ALSIKE   CLOVER — SAPLING    CLOVER — CRIMSON   CLOVER — 
LUC  ERNE — ESPARSETTE — VETCH . 

ALSIKE  CLOVER—  (Trifolium  hybridum). 

This  species  of  clover  was  introduced  into  England  from 
Sweden,  hence  it  is  sometimes  called  Swedish  clover.  It 
gets  the  name  Alsike  from  the  parish  of  Alsike,  in  the 
province  of  Upland.  It  is  a  perennial  found  wild  through- 
out many  parts  of  Sweden,  Norway  and  Finland. 

Alsike  Clover,  as  compared  with  common  red  clover,  has 
a  slenderer  stalk,  narrower  leaf,  and  paler  colored  flowers 
and  foliage.  The  flower  stalks  are  longer  and  the  blossoms 
more  fragrant  and  sweeter  to  the  taste.  When  first  open, 
the  blooms  are  but  faintly  tinged  with  pink,  subsequently 
they  deepen  into  a  pale  red,  and  stand  up.  When  the  pe- 
riod of  flowering  passes  the  heads  droop  and  kirn  brown. 
The  seed  pods  contain  three  or  four  seeds,  which  are  kidney 
shaped,  and  from  dark  green  to  violet  color,  and  consider- 
ably smaller  than  the  seeds  of  red  clover. 

This  clover  does  not  make  much  growth  the  first  year, 
and  attains  full  growth  only  in  its  third  year.  It  yields 
less  than  the  red  clover,  and  has  but  little  or  no  aftermath. 
It  is  hardier  and  sweeter  than  red  clover,  and  being  a  pe- 
rennial, is  more  lasting,  and  it  makes  a  finer  hay. 

Wherever  it  has  been  tried,  experience  has  taught  that 
it  is  best  to  seed  it  down  with  red  clover,  or  some  grass, 
preferably  orchard  grass,  for  the  reasons  that  it  does  not 
occupy  the  ground  the  first  year,  and  is  liable  to  fall  and 
lodge  badly  if  sown  alone.  I  have  noticed  that  it  is  much 
frequented  by  bees. 


ALSIKE  CLOVER.  143 

It  does  not  stand  the  long  dry  summers  of  our  latitude 
well,  but  seems  to  like  cool,  moist  regions. 

A  Michigan  correspondent  of  the  Western  Ruralj  who 
appears  to  have  had  much  experience  with  it,  says : 

Alsike  Clover  is  not  adapted  to  light  sandy,  or  sandy  and  gravelly 
soils,  with  porous  or  leacby  subsoils.  With  good  clay  subsoil,  it  suc- 
ceeds better.  But  it  luxuriates  in  rich,  thoroughly  worked  clay  loani 
soils,  rich  bottom  lands,  prairie,  and  all  marsh  or  swamp  lands  where 
they  can  be  plowed  so  as  to  kill  the  wild  grasses.  Flowering  through 
winter  and  spring  does  not  injure  it.  Here  it  will  accept  the  situation 
and  display  its  magnificent  products  on  the  scale  of  five  tons  of  finely 
cured  hay  to  the  acre.  But  mark !  deeply  stirred,  rich,  moist  land, 
underdrained  or  subsoiled,  or  both,  will  only  produce  this  burden.  The 
chemical  action  of  plaster  is  strikingly  manifest  on  this  plant.  Blos- 
soms are  developed  mo  e  or  less  when  the  plant  is  from  eight  to  ten 
inches  in  height ;  and  when  three  and  a  half  feet,  it  is  a  perfect  sea  of 
bioom. 

Millions  of  dollars  may  be  added  to  the  wealth  of  this  country,  es- 
pecially the  West,  in  a  few  years  by  sowing  one  acre  this  year,  and 
gradually  extending  its  area.  For  soiling  cows,  horses,  etc.,  when  pas- 
tures fail,  it  is  equal  or  superior  to  green  corn,  and  attended  with  much 
less  trouble  in  the  gathering  and  feeding.  During  the  past  year,  I  cut 
three  crops  from  the  same  ground,  standing  at  the  first  cutting  from 
two  to  three  feet  in  height ;  last  cutting,  one  foot  in  height,  as  thick  as  it 
could  staod,  small  delicate  stalks,  with  numerous  branches,  and  per- 
fectly glorified  with  a  mass  of  small  peach-blow  colored  blossoms,  fill- 
ing the  air  with  the  most  delightful  and  exhilarating  perfume,  and 
swarming  with  bees  every  fair  day.  The  root  is  like  red  clover,  but 
longer  and  more  fibrous.  The  haulm  is  small,  tender  and  nutritious ; 
when  well  cured  as  it  should  be,  in  full  bloom,  every  spear  will  be 
eaten  with  avidity  by  all  kinds  of  stock. 

There  is  no  plant  known  that  will  produce  so  much  good  honey,  but- 
ter, cheese,  beef,  mutton,  wool  and  hay  per  acre,  as  this  plant,  not 
even  excepting  cor  .  In  using  the  latter  for  soiling,  you  get  only  the 
haulm,  while  in  the  Alsike  you  get  the  haulm  and  a  large  yield  of 
honey ;  and  if  the  ground  is  prepared  as  well  by  deep  tilth,  manure, 
and  plaster,  or  other  fertilizers,  as  for  corn  you  will  get  as  much  by 
weight  of  the  haulm. 

It  bears  feeding  to  an  enormous  degree.  '  I  think  its  fattening  quali- 
ties superior  to  the  famous  blue  grass  of  Kentucky ;  and  as  it  will 
flourish  well  on  such  soils  as  I  have  designated,  from  the  Gulf  to  Lake 
Superior,  farmers  can  easily  divine  its  immense  advantage  to  their  pock- 


144 


THE   GKASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 


ets.  Beside,  the  expense  of  "seeding  down"  every  three  or  four  years 
is  saved.  It  is  a  great  renovator  and  disintegrator  of  hard,  tenacious 
soils  Its  long  tap  roots  and  numerous  fibers  reach  deep  for  its  pabu- 
lum, and  thus  loosen  the  soil  and  endure  drought  well.  Some  think  there 
are  two  kinds  of  this  clover.  I  think  not.  The  difference  in  growth, 
etc.,  in  diverse  localities,  is  owing  to  the  character  of  the  soil.  I  never 
saw  any  but  the  large  kind  on  land  once  covered  with  beech,  maple, 
oak,  bass,  lever  wood,  etc.,  and  I  never  saw  any  but  the  small  kind  on 
light,  sandy,  and  gravelly  soils.  Also,  on  pebbly  soils  with  calcareous 
debris,  ard  good  tenacious  subsoil  it  succeeds  well.  It  is  no  humbug 

As  compared  with  red  clover,  the  hay  is  richer  by  two 
per  cent,  in  flesh  formers — both  cut  in  bloom.  The  analyses 
of  both,  as  given  by  Professors  .  Wolff  and  Knop,  show: 


'    ^2      . 

o 

&  ft 

O   3   to 
M    5   <J3 

00     22 

Qj    H 

ftbO« 

«rt 

11 

3.9  S 

73 

. 

. 

ft 

*!" 

H 

O 

& 

3 

Red  Clover  

13.4 

29.9 

35.8 

3.2 

6.2 

Alsike 

15.3 

29.2 

30.5 

3  3 

8  3 

The  great  difference  in  the  amount  of  crude  fibre  is  no- 
ticeable, and  shows  decidedly  in  favor  of  Alsike  clover. 

SAPLING  RED  CLOVER— (Trifolium  erectum). 

This  is  precisely  the  same  plant  as  the  common  red 
clover,  and  is  used  in  the  same  manner,  and  for  the  same 
purposes.  The  only  difference  in  it  is,  that  the  stems  being 
stouter,  it  is  not  liable  to  lodge,  but  will  stand  erect,  and 
so  be  in  a  better  condition  to  mow,  and  admits  the  sun  to 
its  roots  better.  As  to  which  may  be  preferable,  is  a  mere 
matter  of  taste  or  prejudice.  Either  is  good,  the  sapling 
clover  being  about  two  weeks  later. 

CRIMSON  CLOVER— (Trifolium  incarnation). 

This  is  an  annual  presenting  a  beautiful  crimson  flower 
when  in  bloom.  It  is  principally  valuable  as  a  green  food, 
though  the  hay  is  thought  to  be  equal  or  superior  to  that 
made  of  red  clover,  but  being  an  annual  it  interferes  more 


CBIMSON   CLOVEK — ALFALFA.  145 

with  the  operations  of  the  farm,  it  being  necessary  to  sow 
it  as  a  separate  crop. 

An  analysis  of  the  hay  cut  in  bloom,  as  made  by  Wolff 
and  Knop,  show : 

Flesh  formers 12.2 

Heating  properties 30.1 

Crude  fibre 33.8 

Fat 3.0 

Ash 72 

It  is  said  to  be  earlier  than  lucerne  or  the  common  red 
clover.  It  may  be  sown  upon  wheat  or  grain  stubble  in 
the  fall,  the  land  being  simply  harrowed  and  the  seed  sown. 

Few  things,  it  is  said,  in  the  vegetable  world,  presents 
a  more  beautiful  sight  than  a  field  of  crimson  clover  in  full 
bloom.  It  is  not  grown  to  any  extent  in  this  State,  a  few 
bunches  appearing  sometimes  in  fields  with  other  clover. 
Its  chief  value  is  in  its  quick  return.  Sown  in  autumn  it 
may  be  mown  early  the  succeeding  spring,  and  so  meet  any 
scarcity  of  provender. 

ALFALFA:  LUCEROT— (Jf«Kca$o  Sativa). 

Cultivated  for  green  fodder;  belongs  to  the  luguminous  family, 
stems  erect,  one  to  two  feet  high,  from  a  long,  deep  root ;  leaflet  obo- 
vate-oblong ;  racemes  oblong ;  pod  several  seeded,  linear,  coiled  about 
two  turns.  (Gray.) 

This  is,  beyond  doubt,  the  oldest  cultivated  grass  known, 
having  been  introduced  into  Greece  from  Media  500  B.  C., 
and  the  Romans,  finding  its  qualities  good,  cultivated  it 
extensively,  and  by  them  it  was  carried  into  France  when 
Csesar  reduced  Gaul.  It  is  emphatically  a  child  of  the 
sun,  and  revels  in  a  heat  that  would  destroy  any  other 
species  of  clover.  But  cold  and  moisture  are  hurtful  to  it. 
On  the  rich,  sandy  lands  of  the  South  it  is  invaluable,  and 
will  grow  luxuriantly,  making  enormous  yields  of  hay. 
Its  nutritive  constituents  are  almost  identical  with  red 
clover,  but  it  has  one  property  not  possessed  by  the  latter, 
and  that  is,  it  is  a  perennial.  Jt  does  not  stool  as  freely  as 
10 


146  THE   GEASSES  OF  TENNESSEE. 

red  clover,  and  therefore  must  be  sown  rather  thicker.  It 
will  continue  to  'furnish  green  pasturage  later  than  red 
clover. 

It  does  not  grow  well  on  any  soil  that  has  a  hard  pan, 
nor  on  thin  soils.  To  secure  a  stand,  the  ground  must  be 
in  a  thorough  state  of  tilth,  well  pulverized  and  mellow. 
A  want  of  attention  to  this  requisite  has  caused  many  to  be 
disappointed  in  the  result.  But  in  well  prepared,  rich, 
gravelly  or  sandy  loam,  it  succeeds  remarkably,  sending 
down  its  long  tap  roots  many  feet  into  the  subsoil,  pumping 
up  moisture  from  below,  and  thus  will  thrive  when  all  other 
plants  are  drooping.  In  this  respect  it  is  far  superior  to 
clover.  For  the  latter,  a  suitable  surface  soil  is  of  equal 
importance  with  the  subsoil,  but  for  Lucerne  a  suitable  sub- 
soil is  absolutely  necessary,  as  the  roots  are  not  fibrous,  only 
rootlets  shooting  off  from  the  main  tap  root.  This  tap  root 
grows  to  be  as  large  as  a  carrot.  This  enormous  quantity 
of  roots  permeating  the  ground  to  the  depth  of  several  feet, 
necessarily  prepares  the  land  for  increased  production,  the 
leguminous  plants  deriving  the  larger  part  of  their  suste- 
nance from  the  atmosphere,  and  storing  it  in  the  roots. 

So  that,  as  a  fertilizer,  it  stands  deservedly  high.  The 
soil  is  not  only  fertilized  to  the  amount  of  several  tons  per 
acre,  but  it  is  mellowed  from  the  mechanical  displacement 
of  the  soil  and  the  admixture  of  decayed  vegetable  matter. 
As  a  preparation  for  wheat  it  is  equal  to  clover,  and  for 
corn  better.  Besides,  a  large  amount  of  the  leaves  is  neces- 
sarily strewn  on  the  ground,  and  it  shades  it  effectually. 

The  seed  of  Lucerne  is  yellow,  and  heavy,  when  good. 
If  brown,  it  has  received  too  much  heat  in  the  mow,  and  if 
light  colored,  it  indicates  that  it  was  saved  too  green.  And 
the  same  precautions  are  necessary  to  be  observed  in  regard 
to  red  clover.  The  time  of  sowing  is  the  same  with  the 
either  species  of  clover,  that  is  Spring  time.  It  should  be 
sown  in  drills,  and  cultivated  the  first  year,  so  as  to  keep 
down  the  weeds.  It  is  easily  smothered. 


ALFALFA — LUCERNE.  147 

II  derives  its  name,  Alfalfa,  from  the  Chilians.  It  grows 
spontaneously  all  over  Chili,  among  the  Andes,  as  well  as  on 
the  pampas  of  that  country,  and  of  Buenos  Ay  res.  The  French 
and  Spanish  settlements  of  the  Southern  States  adhere  to 
it,  and  cultivate  it  in  preference  to  all  other  forage  plants. 
It  would  be  a  good  addition  to  the  farms  of  West  Tennes- 
nessee,  especially  in  the  sandy  bottoms.  It  would  also 
thrive  upon  the  alluvial  bottoms  of  any  part  of  the  State 
where  the  sun  has  fair  play  on  the  ground. 

When  properly  managed,  the  number  of  cattle  which  can 
be  kept  in  good  condition  on  an  acre  of  Lucerne,  during 
the  whole  season,  exceeds  belief.  It  is  no  sooner  mown 
than  it  pushes  out  fresh  shoots,  and  wonderful  as  the  growth 
of  clover  sometimes  is,  in  a  field  that  has  been  lately  mown, 
that  of  Lucerne  is  far  more  rapid.  Lucerne  will  last  for 
many  years,  shooting  its  roots — tough  and  fibrous  almost  as 
those  of  liquorice — downwards  for  nourishment,  till  they 
are  altogether  out  of  reach  of  drought.  In  the  dryest  and 
most  sultry  weather,  when  every  blade  of  grass  droops  for 
want  of  moisture,  Lucerne  holds  out  its  stem  fresh  and 
green  as  in  the  genial  spring. 

Although  so  luxuriant  in  France,  it  will  not  flourish  in 
England  for  the  want  of  sun.  It  has  generally  failed  in 
the  Northern  States  for  the  same  reason,  superadded  to  the 
cold,  while  in  the  South  it  is  a  fine,  thrifty  plant.  It  has 
been  fully  tested  in  Georgia  and  Alabama,  and  has  given 
universal  satisfaction.  Horses  there,  it  is  said,  require  no 
other  food  when  not  constantly  engaged  in  work.  Five 
tons  of  good  hay  have  been  made  to  the  acre.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  five  horses  may  be  supported  during  the  entire 
year  from  one  acre  of  it.  It  is  ready  for  the  mower  a 
month  before  red  clover,  and  springs  up  long  before  the 
usual  pasture  grasses.  In  saving  it  for  hay,  care  must  be 
exercised,  as  in  red  clover,  not  to  expose  the  plant  too  long 
to  the  sun,  as  it  will  shrivel  and  dry  up  the  leaves,  and 
they  will  be  lost.  The  time  for  cutting  is  when  it  is  in  full 
bloom,  as  in  red  clover. 


148  THE   GEASSES   OF  TENNESSEE. 

Occasionally  it  is  attacked  by  an  insect,  when  it  begins 
to  turn  yellow,  then  it  should  at  once  be  cut,  as  it  will 
quickly  dry  up  otherwise.  Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  seed, 
and  the  small  amount  cultivated,  it  is  quite  expensive,  but 
the  farmer  can  test  it  on  a  small  quantity  of  land,  and  at 
the  same  time  secure  seed  for  future  sowing.  The  first  year 
it  is  apt  to  be  troubled  by  the  presence  of  weeds,  but  these 
can  be  easily  exterminated  if  the  precaution  is  observed  to 
run  the  mower  over  it  before  the  weeds  go  to  seed.  After- 
wards no  fears  need  be  entertained  on  that  subject. 

This  plant  is  well  adapted  to  the  use  of  persons  living  in 
small  towns  or  villages,  who  have  a  small  lot  they  wish  to 
devote  to  hay  for  a  single  horse  or  cow.  No  other  kind  of 
clover  or  grass  will  equal  it  in  quantity,  while  the  quality 
is  as  good  as  the  best. 

On  the  whole,  the  farmers  cannot  do  better  than  adopt 
the  cultivation  of  this  grass.  It  has  proved,  with  all  who 
have  tested  it,  worthy  of  all  the  extravagant  encomiums 
bestowed  upon  it. 

An  analysis  shows  the  hay  to  contain  : 

Flesh  formers 14.4 

Heating  properties 22.5 

Crude  fibre 40.0 

Fat 2.5 

Ash 6.4 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  flesh-forming  constituents  it  sur- 
passes red  clover  by  one  per  cent. 

SAINFOIN  OB  ESPABSETTE— (Onobrychis  saliva). 

From  two  French  words,  meaning  sacred  grass.  It  is  a  perennial, 
leguminous  plant,  partaking  more  the  character  and  appearance  of  the 
pea  than  clover.  It  has  stems  from  two  to  three  feet  long,  straggling, 
tapering,  smooth ;  leaves  in  pairs  of  pointed,  oblong  leaflets,  slightly 
hairy  on  the  under  side ;  flower  stalks  higher  than  the  leaves,  ending  in 
a  spike  of  crimson  or  variegated  flowers,  succeeded  by  flat,  hard  pods, 
toothed  on  the  edges,  and  prickly  on  the  sides;  roots  perennial, Jhard 
and  woody.  Flowers  in  July. 


VETCH,   TARES.  149 

Experiments  have  been  made  with  this  grass,  and  though 
so  valuable  in  France  as  to  be  called  sacred,  it  has  not 
proved  a  success  here.  It  requires  two  or  three  years  to 
arrive  at  maturity,  and  during  that  time  has  to  be  watched 
closely,  or  it  will  be  choked  up  with  weeds  or  grasses.  It 
does  not  yield  as  much  hay  as  either  red  clover  or  lucerne, 
but  is  of  a  very  superior  kind,  and  is  much  vaunted  as  a 
good  butter  making  hay.  It  does  not  give  cows  the  hoven, 
however  much  they  may  eat  of  it.  Its  seeds  are  also  said 
to  be  superior  to  oats,  and  more  nutritious,  and  are  very 
fine  for  fowls,  inciting  them  to  lay.  It  does  best  on  lime- 
stone soils,  though  succeeding  well  on  gravelly  or  sandy 
land,  and  will  stand  a  large  amount  of  heat,  though  not 
much  cold.  It  would  probably  suit  the  country  further 
south  better  than  Tennessee,  though  I  have  seen  it  growing 
in  Stewart  county,  having  been  brought  there  by  a  Swiss 
family.  It  would  probably  grow  on  all  our  calcareous  soils. 

VETCH,  TABES— ( Vicia,  Americana}. 

Flowers,  several  or  many  on  a  slender  peduncle ;  pods  several  seeded^ 
with  ten  to  fourteen  oblong,  and  very  blunt,  veiny  leaflets,  and  purplish 
flowers  over  one-half  inch  long. 

This  legumen  is  common  throughout  the  whole  United 
States,  though  sparingly  raised  in  Tennessee,  from  the  fact 
that  the  ordinary  cow  or  stock  pea  answers  our  purpose 
equally  well  for  all  kinds  of  stock,  and  is  a  savory  food  for 
man,  and  on  this  account  the  latter  will  be  treated  further 
on  under  the  head  of  Cereals,  both  of  man  and  beast. 

This  closes  the  chapter  on  meadow  grasses,  cultivated  or 
experimented  with  in  Tennessee.  There  are  many  others 
which  may  be  worthy  of  a  trial. 


THE  GRASSES  OF    TENNESSEE.  151 


PASTURE  GRASSES. 


III. 


While  there  are  over  200  varieties  of  grasses  cultivated  in  England 
for  the  use  of  domestic  animals,  in  the  occupied  territory  embraced 
within  the  United  States  there  are  not  more  than  twenty -five,  although 
there  is  a  much  greater  diversity  of  soils,  surface  configuration,  climate 
and  latitude.  The  grasses  constituting  our  meadows  are  nearly  all 
derived  from  the  eastern  continent,  where  the  abundance  of  the  rich 
pasture  lands  teem  with  a  great  variety  of  nutritious  herbage.  All  the 
cereals — oats,  rye,  wheat  and  barley,  are  indigenous  to  the  old  world. 
Indian  corn  is  the  greatest  and  almost  the  only  valuable  cereal  contrib- 
uted by  the  new  world  to  the  old.  The  great  prairies  east  and  west  of 
the  Mississippi  abound  in  a  charming  and  luxuriant  vegetation,  but  the 
supply  of  food  which  they  afford  for  the  herds  grazing  upon  them  in 
comparison  to  the  overwhelming  quantity  of  worthless  herbage,  is  very 
scanty.  Exactly  the  reverse  is  the  condition  of  the  pastures  of  the 
eastern  hemisphere,  where  almost  every  plant  that  springs  from  the 
surface  of  the  earth  is  rich  in  nutritive  elements.  The  extensive  plains 
along  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  extending  to  the 
western  borders  of  Kansas,  are  the  only  natural  pastures  where  the 
growth  of  an  indigenous  grass  of  suitable  texture  and  highly  nutritive 
qualities  prevails  to  the  exclusion  of  almost  all  other  vegetation.  The 
Buffalo  grass,  JBuchlos  dactyloides  delicate  and  low  growing  species,  but 
very  nutritious  and  exceedingly  tenacious  of  life,  possesses  dominion 


152  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

over  the  entire  surface.  It  survives  equally  well  the  severest  droughts 
and  the  tramping  of  the  buffalo.  The  range  of  this  grass  is  said  to  be 
identical  with  that  of  the  buffalo. 

The  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  from  the  upper  Sacramento 
to  San  Diego,  has  hundreds  of  square  miles  covered  with  the  wild 
oats  of  California.  This  is  also  excellent  natural  pasture  grounds. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  the  poa  pratensis  or  blue  grass,  our  most 
valuable  pasture  grass,  is  a  true  indigenous  species.  It  is  found  over 
such  an  extensive  range  and  often  m  such  wild  and  inaccessible  places, 
far  from  settlements,  that  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  the  seeds  could 
have  been  disseminated  by  the  settlers  or  their  stock.  Besides,  we  know 
of  numerous  other  plants  which  belong  unquestionably  to  both  conti- 
tinents.  It  is  also  evident  that  the  spread  of  this  grass  has  been  favored 
by  the  expanse  of  cultivation  and  the  increase  of  stock. 

It  is  still  an  open  question  whether,  among  the  few  indigenous  grasses, 
there  may  not  still  be  some  which  would  submit  to  artificial  treatment 
and  become  useful  and  profitable  meadow,  or,  at  least,  pasture  grasses. 
Here  is  a  field  well  worthy  the  attention  of  the  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment at  Washington.  The  numerous  geological  and  geographical  sur- 
veys now  persecuted  with  such  vigor  by  the  General  Government,  should 
be  charged  with  the  duty  of  collecting  seeds  of  the  wild  grasses  that 
promise  to  be  valuable,  and  skillfully  conducted  experiments  made  at 
the  botanical  gardens  at  Washington. 

There  are  many  other  wild  grasses  that  might  be  domesticated,  many 
of  which  are  common  in  Tennessee.  The  following  furnished  by 
Dr.  Gattinger,1  are  not  rare,  but  very  generally  distributed,  and  good  for 
grazing.  Experiments  should  be  tried  with  these  under  culture: 


Sporobulus  Indicus. 
Bouteloua  curtipendula. 
Poa  compressa. 

— serotina. 

— flexuosa. 

— brevifolia. 
Pestuca  elatior. 

— nutans. 


Bromus  Kalmii. 
Elymus  Virginicus. 

— Canadenais. 
Paspalum  distichum. 

— Iseve. 

— racemulocum. 

— undulatum. 

— ciliatifolium. 


Some  of  these,  under  cultivation,  might  become  important  pasture 
especially  the  Poas. 


THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE.  153 

In  this  part  I  shall  treat  the  Pasture  Grasses  in  the  following  order: 
Meadow  Foxtail,  Mexican  Muhlenbergia,  Nimble  Will,  Hair  grass, 
Black  Oat  or  Prairie  grass,  Bermuda  grass,  Hairy  Muskit,  Pointed 
Slender  grass,  Annual  Spear  or  Goose  grass,  Wood  Meadow  grass,  Wire 
grass,  Blue  grass,  Rough  Meadow  grass,  Creeping  Meadow  grass,  Strong- 
scented  Meadow  grass,  Slender  Meadow  grass,  Meadow  Comb  grass, 
Quaking  grass,  Small  Fescue,  Sheep's  Fescue,  Meadow  Fescue,  Com- 
mon Reed  grass,  Cane,  Couch  grass,  Velvet  or  Lawn  grass,  Barley 
grass,  Tall  Meadow  Oat  grass,  Wood  Hair  grass,  Crab  or  Finger  grass, 
Sweet-Scented  Vernal  grass,  Prolific  Panic  grass,  Pampas  grass, 
Ramie,  Fiorin,  White  Clover,  Japan  Clover,  Herds  grass  and  Orchard 
grass. 


154  THE  GEASSES    OP    TENNESSEE. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MEADOW  FOXTAIL — MEXICAN  MUHLENBERGIA — NIMBLE 
WILL — HAIR  GRASS — BLACK  OAT  OR  PRAIRIE  GRASS — 
BERMUDA  GRASS — HAIRY  MUSKIT — POINTED  SLENDER 
GRASS — ANNUAL  SPEAR  GRASS — WOOD  MEADOW  GRASS 

MEADOW   FOXTAIL.— (Alopecurus  pratensis.) 

This  grass  has  an  erect,  smooth  stem,  one  to  two  feet  high,  with 
swelling  sheaths ;  spikes  cylindrical,  obtuse,  equalling  the  sharp,  cone- 
like  glumes;  awns  twisted  and  twice  the  length  of 
the  blossom.  It  flowers  in  May  and  June.  The  spikes 
are  not  so  long  or  large  as  timothy,  but,  except  as 
to  size,  it  very  closely  resembles  it.  It  has  only  one 
palea,  and  the  head  is  soft,  while  timothy  is  rough. 

What  the^  blue  grass  is  to  Tennessee  the 
Foxtail  is  to  the  Northern  States.  There  it  is 
regularly  sown,  and  the  seeds  command  a  high 
price.  When  young,  and,  in  fact,  up  to  blos- 
soming, it  is  eaten  with  relish  by  stock,  es- 
pecially sheep,  but  after  it  forms  seed  it  is  of 
but  little  service  in  the  support  of  anything. 
It  is  never  sown  here;  in  fact  it  is  rather  re- 
garded in  the  light  of  a  pest  by  most  farmers, 
as  it  forms  one  of  the  grasses  to  be  specially 
contended  against  in  the  cultivation  of  field 
crops.  It  grows  without  care,  almost  every- 
where, especially  on  abandoned  fields,  and 
generally,  with  broom-grass,  rooti  out  other 
vegetation.  In  the  fall,  after  it  has  seeded,  it 
makes  a  very  luxuriant  aftermath.  The  nu- 
tritive value  of  this  grass  will  surprise  many 
farmers  who  have  always  looked  upon  it  with 
disfavor.  According  to  Way's  analysis,  it  has 


MEADOW  FOXTAIL  —  MEXICAN  MUHLENBERGlA.       1,56 

in  100  parts,  when  green,  of  flesh  formers,  2.44;  fatty  mat- 
ter, .52;  heaters,  8.59.  When  dried  the  same  grass  yielded 
of  flesh-formers,  12.32;  fatty  matter,  2.92;  heaters,  43.12  in 
100  parts.  "Wolff's  and  Knop's  analysis  of  this  grass  may 
be  seen  on  page  36. 

MEXICAN  MUHLENBERGIA.—  (  Muhlenbergia  Mexwcma.) 

This  grass  has  an  erect  stem,  two  to  three  feet  high,  with  a  great 
many  branches;  panicles  lateral  and  contracted,  branches  closely  spiked, 
in  clusters,  green  and  purplish  ;  glumes  pointed,  awnless  and  unequal. 
It  flowers  in  July  and  is  perennial. 

This  grass  thrives  best  in  bottoms,  where  it  grows  freely. 
It  is  slower  in  maturing  than  most  grasses,  and  hence,  fills  a 
vacuum  caused  by  the  seeding  and  dying  out  of  the  earlier 
grasses.  It  is  eaten  with  avidity  by  cattle,  and  is  a  good 
grass  in  its  place.  From  its  wonderful  strength,  and  its 
rapidly  spreading  roots,  it  is  not  advisable  to  allow  it  to  be 
sown  or  planted  in  gardens  or  fields. 


NIMBLE  WIJuIj^Muhlenbergia  di/usa.) 

A.  species  of  the  preceding;  has  stems  diffusely  branched,  from  eigh 
to  eighteen   inches  high;  panicles  slender  and  contracted;  glumes  min 
ute;  awns  nearly  twice  as  long  as  the  palea.     It  flowers  in  August  and 
September,  and  is  a  perennial. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  do  more  than  mention  this 
grass,  which  forms,  in  many  sections  the  bulk  of  the  pas- 
tures of  the  woods.  It  does  not  grow  in  fields,  but  in 
woods,  where,  in  the  fall,  after  rains  have  set  it,  it  carpets 
the  earth  with  living  green.  Various  opinions  are  enter- 
tained as  to  its  nutritive  qualities,  Some  farmers  contend 
that  their  stock  are  fond  of  it,  and,  on  a  sufficient  range, 
cattle,  horses  and  sheep  will  go  into  the  winter  sleek  and 
fat  from  this  vigorous  grass.  Others  regard  it  as  well- 
nigh  worthless. 

It  freely  propagates  itself  in  all  woods  where  the  cover- 
ing of  leaves  is  not  so  great  as  to  exclude  the  rays  of  the 
sun  from  the  soil.  Like  other  grasses,  it  does  best  on  good 


156  THE    GRASSES    OF  TENNESSEE. 

lands,  and  the  rich,  black,  loamy  woods  in  many  parts  of  the 
State  are  set  with  it. 

It  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  butter -making  grass,  and 
gives  a  particularly  fine  flavor  to  this  article  of  food.  It  has 
never,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  writer,  been  sown,  though, 
as  it  produces  seed  in  a  limited  quantity,  there  is  no  reason 
why  it  should  not  be  if  it  is  really  a  valuable  grass. 

HAIR  GRASS.— (Muhlenbergm  capillaris.) 

Another  species  of  the  same.  Has  spikelets,  one-flowered  in  con- 
tracted, slender  panicles  Glumes  minute;  palea  hairy  or  bearded  at 
the  base,  herbaceous,  the  lower  three  nerved,  pointed  or  nerved  at  the 
tip;  stamens,  three 

These  grasses,  together  with  several  not  growing  in  the 
State,  were  named  from  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  a  distinguished 
botanist,  who  gave  them  a  name  and  description. 

The  hair  grass  is  a  beautiful,  graceful  grass,  and  is  often 
sold  by  florists  as  an  ornamental  grass,  and  forms  a  feathery 
addition  to  bouquets.  It  has  no  great  agricultural  value. 

BLACK  OAT  GRASS-PRAIRIE  GRASS.-(^a  avenacea.) 

Spikelets  one-flowered;  flowers  stipitate,  or  borne  on  slender  stalks; 
glumes  equal,  membranaceous;  pales  longer  than  the  glumes,  thick  and 
leathery,  the  lower  tipped  with  a  very  long  awn;  bent  above  and  twisted 
at  the  base;  seed  scale  rounded  or  cylindrical,  mfloresence  in  spreading 
panicles.  Perennial, 

This  grass  is  found  in  the  fence  corners  of  most  of  our 
fields,  and,  to  some  extent,  in  the  woods  in  sandy  places.  It 
resembles  very  much  the  black  oat,  and  hence  its  name. 
Cattle  and  sheep  will  eat  it  after  it  has  seeded,  but  it  is 
not  of  much  value.  It  grows  on  almost  all  of  the  prairies 
of  the  Western  States.  It  is  often  seen  in  vases  as  an  orna- 
mental plant. 

BERMUDA  GRASS.--SCTTTCH  GRASS.-(Cynodo»  dactylon.} 

Glumes  nearly  equal;  spikes,  four  to  five;  pales  smooth;  stems  smooth, 
hollow,  prostrate  at  the  base,  with  four  or  five  leares  flat  or  folded, 


BEEMUDA   GEASS.  157 

acute,  rigid,  hairy,  rough  at  the  edges;  lower  joints  covered  by  the 
sheath;,  infloresence  digitate,  purplish;  stamens  three;  stigmas  feathery; 
perennial. 

Bermuda  grass  is  a  native  of  the  West  Indies,  and  is  the 
principal  grass  of  that  torrid  country.  It  has  only  lately  been 
brought  into  notice  as  a  valuable  pasture  grass  for  this  State. 
In  Louisiana,  Texas  and  the  South  generally,  it  is,  and  has 
been,  the  chief  reliance  for  pasture  for  a  long  time,  and  the 
immense  herds  of  cattle  on  the  southern  prairies  subsist 
principally  on  this  food.  It  revels  on  sandy  soils,  and  has 
been  grown  extensively  on  the  sandy  hills  of  Virginia  and 
North  and  South  Carolina.  From  the  extreme  vitality  of 
its  long,  rhizome  roots,  it  is  very  difficult  to  eradicate  when 
once  it  gets  a  good  foothold.  Occasionally  the  traveler 
meets  with  patches  of  Bermuda  grass  in  the  cotton  fields  of 
the  South,  and  it  is  carefully  avoided  by  the  planter,  any 
disturbance  giving  a  new  start  to  its  vigorous  roots.  Some 
ditch  around  it,  and  others  enclose  it  and  let  shrubbery  do 
the  work  of  destruction,  It  is  used  extensively  on  the 
southern  rivers  to  hold  the  levees  and  the  embankments  of 
the  roads.  It  is  the  only  yard  grass  in  that  section.  It 
forms  a  sward  so  tough  it  is  almost  impossible  for  a  plow  to 
pass  through  it.  There  is  a  saying  in  the  South,  "that  it 
would  take  a  team  of  six  bull  elephants  to  draw  a  thumb- 
lancet  through  it." 

It  will  throw  its  runners  over  a  rock  six  f«et  across,  and 
soon  hide  it  from  view;  or,  it  will  run  down  the  sides  of 
the  deepest  gully  and  stop  its  washing. 

The  parks  of  the  South,  set  with  it,  present  a  very  beau- 
tiful appearance  if  kept  mown,  and  its  pale  green  color  acts 
as  a  great  relief  to  the  landscape  when  burning  with  the 
summer  suns  of  the  South.  Hogs  thrive  upon  its  succulent 
roots,  and  horses  and  cattle  upon  its  foliage.  It  has 
no  seed,  but  can  be  easily  propagated  by  dropping  cuttings 
in  a  furrow  two  or  three  feet  apart.  It,  however,  does  not 


158  THE   GEASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 

endure  a  shade,  and  the  weeds  must  be  mown  from  it  the 
first  year. 

In  some  of  the  worn  and  gullied  fields  of  Tennessee,  on  her 
mountain  sides  and  on  the  sandy  hills  of  many  parts  of  the 
State,  the  cultivation  of  this  grass  would  be  a  grand  im- 
provement, making  the  waste  places  to  bloom,  where  now 
only  sterility  reigns.  During  the  winter  it,  unlike  blue 
grass,  disappears  from  view,  but  with  the  warming  influ- 
ences of  the  sun  it  springs  up  and  affords  a  constant  graz- 
ing through  the  spring,  summer  and  autumn  months.  The 
farmers  of  the  South,  before  the  war,  looked  upon  it  as  a 
curse  rather  than  a  blessing,  and  used  every  endeavor  to 
destroy  it.  But  a  change  of  opinion  has  taken  place  in  this 
respect,  and  it  is  encouraged  in  its  growth. 

It  would  be  a  good  grass  to  mix  with  blue  grass,  as,  when 
it  disappears  in  the  winter,  the  blue  grass  and  white  clover 
would  spring  up  to  keep  the  ground  in  a  constant  state  of 
verdure.  It  grows  luxuriantly  on  the  top  of  Lookout 
Mountain,  having  been  set  there  many  years  ago.  This 
mountain  is  2,200  feet  high,  and  has,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
excessively  cold  winters;  so,  if  it  thrives  there,  no  fear 
need  be  entertained  as  to  its  capacity  to  endure  our  cEmate. 
Cattle  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  will  leave  clover  to  feed 
upon  Bermuda.  It  also  has  the  capacity  to  withstand  any 
amount  of  heat  and  drought,  and  months  that  are  so  dry  as 
to  check  the  growth  of  blue  grass  will  only  make  the  Ber- 
muda greener  and  more  thrifty.  The  experiment  of  mix- 
ing the  two  grasses,  spoken  of  above,  has  been  tried  with 
eminent  success. 

It  is  also  used  in  the  South. as  a  meadow  grass,  but  Ten- 
nessee has  so  many  other  grasses  of  more  value,  thut  it 
would  not  be  profitable  to  employ  this,  other  than  as  a  pas- 
ture grass. 

"Where  it  is  indigenous,  it  has  a  great  reputation  as  a 
fertilizer,  and  many  fields  so  worn  out  as  to  be  worthless, 
have  been  reclaimed  by  it.  The  labor  of  plowing  it  up  is 


BERMUDA   GRASS.  159 

considerable,  but  the  many  improved  plows  of  the  present 
day  would  be  easily  dragged  through  it.  There  is  a  sacred 
grass  in  India  called  the  Daub,  and  it  is  venerated  by  the 
inhabitants  on  account  of  its  wonderful  usefulness.  This  is 
said  to  be  precisely  the  same  as  the  Bermuda,  except  the 
changes  made  by  the  differences  of  climate  and  soil. 

Mr.  Affleck,  in  a  letter  to  H.  S.  Randall,  says  of  the 
Bermuda  grass : 

"  We  are  fully  aware  of  all  the  objections  made  to  the 
spreading  of  this  grass,  and  have  a  practical  knowledge  of 
all  the  trouble  it  occasions;  and  having  also  had  several 
years'  experience  of  its  great,  its  incalculable  value,  we 
have  no  hesitation  in  stating  that  the  latter  is  many-fold 
greater  than  the  former.  The  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
all  the  rough  feed  consumed  on  plantations  will  be  made 
from  this  grass;  and  when  the  planter  will  consider  his  hay 
crop  as  of  much  more  importance  than  his  sugar  or  cotton. 
The  excellence  of  this  plant  for  pasturage  is  evinced  by  two 
circumstances.  It  is  preferred  by  stock  of  every  descrip- 
tion to  all  other  grass,  and  it  grows  luxuriantly  in  every 
kind  of  soil.  It  possesses  an  additional  advantage,  that  of 
binding  the  loosest  and  most  barren  sandy  tracts.  But 
when  it  has  once  taken  possession  of  close,  rich  soil,  its  ex- 
tirpation is  so  difficult  as  almost  to  defy  all  the  skill,  indus- 
try and  perseverance  of  farmers.  It  is  used  to  bind  the 
levees  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  railroads. 
We  saw  it  at  Macon,  Ga.,  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  so  on,  as 
far  north  as  City  Point,  Va.,  where  it  partially  covers  the 
wharf.  One  hundred  pounds  of  grass  afford  upward  of 
fifty  of  hay;  and  we  do  cut,  as  a  regular  crop,  five  tons  of 
hay  per  acre  each  season.  Were  we  to  state  how  much  more 
has  been  cut,  we  might  strain  the  belief  of  our  readers.  No 
other  grass  will  yield  such  an  amount  of  valuable  hay;  sur- 
pass it  in  nutritive  qualities;  support  on  an  acre  of  pasture 
such  an  amount  of  stock;  will  improve  the  soil  more 
quickly;  or  so  effectually  stop  and  fill  up  a  wash  or  gully. 


160  THB  GRASSES  OF  TENNESSEE. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  its  extirpation)  when  once  well  es- 
tablished, is  almost  impossible,  though  to  check  and  weaken 
it,  so  far  as  to  grow  a  grain  or  cotton  crop,  is  easy  enough. 
To  do  this,  pursue  the  course  oi  the  best  farmers  of  Ken- 
tucky in  their  management  of  blue  grass  sod — with  a  good 
breaking  plow,  having  a  wheel  and  coulter,  and  a  stout 
team,  turn  over  evenly  and  nicely  a  sod  four  inches  thick 
and  as  wide  as  the  plow  and  horses  are  capable  of,  following 
in  the  same  furrow  with  another  plow  which  casts  the  dirt 
well,  and  throw  out  as  much  of  the  fresh  earth  on  top  of 
the  sod  as  possible,  or  the  depth  of  the  soil  will  admit  of. 
The  crop  that  follows  can  easily  be  tended  without  disturb- 
turbing  the  sod,  and  its  gradual  decay  will  greatly  increase 
whatever  crop  may  be  planted  on  it — and  that  should  be  a 
shading  one,  cora  and  peas  or  pumpkins,  or  winter  oats 
followed  by  peas.  Good  farmers  will  understand  that  heavy 
crops  of  hay  cannot  be  removed,  for  many  successive  years, 
from  any  land  without  some  return  in  the  shape  of  manure. 
To  the  careful,  judicious  farmer,  who  wishes  to  improve  his 
land  and  his  stock,,  and  who  does  not  expect  to  grow  any 
crop  without  trouble,  and  who  uses  good  plows  and  keeps 
a  stout  team,  and  that  in  prime  order,  we  earnestly  recom- 
med  to  try  an  acre  or  two  of  this  grass,  in  a  situation  where 
it  cannot  readily  spread.  To  the  careless  farmer  we  say 
touch  it  not. 

"  Bermuda  grass  well  set,  which  affords  the  finest  and 
most  nutritious  pasturage  I  have  ever  seen,  will  keep 
almost  any  number  of  sheep  to  the  acre — three  or  four  times 
as  many  as  blue  grass." 

HAIRY  MUSKIT-MEZQUITE— MESQUIT.--(JJottfe&roa  cur- 
tipendula.) 

Spikes  short,  solitary,  racemed;  spikelets  alternate,  two  or  three 
flowered,  the  terminal  flower  imperfect;  glumes  two;  keeled,  the  upper 
layer  shorter  than  the  flowers;  stamens  three ;  anthers  orange  or  red; 
rachis  extending  beyond  the  spikelets.  Perennial. 

Muskit  grass  has  come  into  very  general  use  in  some 


HAIRY  MUSKIT — POINTED  SLENDER  GRASS.  161 

parts  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and,  to  some  extent,  in 
Tennessee,  and  where  used,  has  given  much  satisfaction. 
It  is  the  grass  of  the  northern  and  western  prairies,  and  is 
very  nutritious.  In  the  absence  of  grasses  better  suited  to 
this  climate,  the  Muskit  might  become  a  very  popular 
grass,  but  such  is  not  the  case.  Great  quantities  of  it  are 
annually  cut  and  sold  as  prairie  hay.  It  would  be  well  for 
some  enterprising  farmer  to  experiment  with  it. 

POINTED   SLENDER,   Gr'RABS.—(Leptochloa  mucr&nata.) 

This  is  an  annual,  growing  from  two  to  three  feet  high,  and  flowers 
in  August.  Sheaths  hairy;  spikes  from  twenty  or  more,  two  or  three 
inches  long,  in  a  long  panicle-like  raceme;  glumes  pointed,  about  equal- 
ing the  three  or  four  awnless  flowers. 

It  grows  in  fields  and  pastures  and  affords  a  small 
amount  of  grazing  during  the  hot  months;  while  the 
regular  pasture  grasses  are  parched  up  with  heat.  But  it 
is  not  of  much  agricultural  value  in  the  presence  of  so 
many  others  that  are  successfully  grown. 

ANNUAL  SPEAR  GRASS-GOOSE   GRASS-(Poa  annua.) 

Spikelets  ovate,  crowded,  three  to  seven  flowered;  panicle  one-sided 
often;  stems  spreading,  flattened,  tufted;  lower  palea  more  or  less 
hairy  on  the  nerves  below;  leaves  of  a  bright  green,  sword-shaped,  flat, 
often  crumpled  on  the  margin,  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  rough  at  the 
edges;  seeds  oblong,  free;  glumes  shorter  than  the  flowers. 

This  is  one  of  the  species  of  the  valuable  genus  Poa  to 
which  blue  grass  belongs,  and  is  a  very  common  grass  on 
all  our  swards,  and  known  as  Goose  Grass.  It  is  so  very 
,  like  blue  grass  that,  to  a  casual  observer,  it  would  be 
taken  for  it.  But  the  florets  are  not  webbed,  and  in  blue 
grass  the  roots  are  creeping,  while  this  is  tufted.  It  is  a 
valuable  grazing  grass  and  sows  itself.  It  is  a  common  pas- 
ture grass  of  the  Northern  States,  and  is  highly  prized.  It 
flowers  through  the  whole  summer,  unless  dried  up  by  a 
drought,  to  which  it  easily  yields.  It  forms  the  principle 
grazing  of  the  Unaka  Mountains,  in  Tennessee. 
11 


162 


THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


According  to  Prof.  Way,  this  grass  is  less  nutritious 
than  blue  grass,  when  green,  and  more  nutritious  when  dry. 
A  comparison  of  the  two  when  green  and  cut  in  bloom  and 
dried  is  as  follows : 


Water. 

Flesh 
formers 

Fat. 

Heaters. 

Poa  annua  

79.14 

2.47 

.71 

10  79 

Poa  pratensis         

67  14 

8  41 

86 

14  15 

When  dry,  the  comparison  shows  as  follows : 


Poa  annua . . . 
Poa  pratensis 


Flesh 
formers.  |  Fat. 

8.43 

2.63 


11.83 
10.35 


Heaters. 

"51770" 

43.06 


The  analysis  of  Wolff  and  Knop,  on  page  36,  show  a  sim- 
ilar difference. 

WOOD  ^MEADOW  GBASS.-(Poa  nemoralis.) 

This  grass  grows  in  moist,  shady  woods,  is  rank  and 
luxuriant,  and  is,  like  the  other  Poas,  greatly  relished  by 
stock.  It  will  thrive  well  in  thickets  and  barrens,  and  is  an 
early  grass.  It  has  been,  treated  of  under  the  head  of 
Meadow  Grasses. 


WIRE    GRASS — BLUE   GRASS. 


163 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

WIRE  GRASS    OR   BLUE  GRASS  OF  THE  NORTH — KENTUCKY 
BLUE  GRASS. 

WIRE  GRASS,  BLUE  GRASS  OF  THE  NORTH— (Poa  cam- 
pressa.) 

Stems  ascending,  flattened,  the  uppermost  joint 
near  the  middle;  leaves  short,  green;  panicle  dense 
and  contracted,  expanding  more  at  flowering;  short 
branches  often  in  pairs,  covered  with  from  four  to 
nine  flowered'  flat  spikelets;  flowers  rather  obtuse, 
linear,  hairy  below  the  keel,  ligule  short  and  blunt; 
hight  about  a  foot  to  eighteen  inches. 

This  is  the  Blue  Grass  of  the  North,  and 
it  thrives  on  poor  sandy  knolls,  and 
though  the  foliage  is  not  so  luxuriant  as  in 
other  grasses,  it  is  very  valuable.  It  is  found 
principally  in  the  mountainous  portions  of 
East  Tennessee,  though  it  is  seen  everywhere 
over  the  State.  It  is  very  hardy  and,  even 
in  paths  that  are  trodden,  it  does  well.  Its 
color  has  given  it  the  name  of  "blue  grass" 
all  through  the  North,  but  it  must  not  be 
confounded  with  Kentucky  blue  grass,  to 
which  it  is  closely  allied,  differing  principally 
in  having  a  flat  stalk  and  a  darker  green 
color. 


BLUE  GRASS— (Poa  pratensis.) 

Lower  florets  connected  at  the  base  by  a  web  of  long,  silky  filament?, 
holding  the  calyx;  outer  palea  five  ribbed,  marginal  ribs  hairy;  upper 
sheath  longer  than  its  leaf ;  hight  from  twelve  inches  to  two  feet;  root 
perennial,  creeping;  stem  erect,  smooth,  round;  leaves  linear,  flat, 
acute,  roughish  on  the  edges  and  inner  surface;  panicle  diffuse,  spreading, 


164  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

erect.  The  plant  is  of  alight-green  color,  the  spikelets  often  varie- 
gated with  a  purplish  brown  color.  Flowers  in  June  and  July.  In 
addition  to  the  name  of  Blue  Grass  it  also  in  certain  localities  takes 
the  names  of  June  Grass,  Common  Spear  Grass,  Green  Meadow  Grass, 
Kentucky  Blue  Grass. 


This  is  the  king  of  pasture  grasses 
in  the  Central  Basin  of  Tennessee, 
and  on  soils  suited  to  its  growth  it 
is  useless  to  attempt  the  cultivation  of 
any  other  kinds,  except  as  auxiliary 
to  this.  It  is  valuable,  both  for  sum- 
mer and  winter  pasturage,  and  no 
farmer  occupying  soils  suited  to  its 
growth  is  justifiable  in  being  without 
it.  It  is  easily  started,  and  the  seeds 
are  readily  procured,  and  once  start- 
ed, it  is  perennial.  No  amount  of 
pasturing  is  sufficient  to  destroy  it 
utterly,  and,  though  eaten  until  no 
appearance  of  it  is  seen  on  the  ground, 
with  rest  for  a  few  days,  the  earth  is 
again  carpeted  with  its  soft  green 
foliage  as  luxuriantly  as  ever.  "Who- 
ever has  blue  grass  has  the  basis  for 
all  agricultural  prosperity;  and  that 
man,  if  he  has  not  the  finest  horses, 
cattle  and  sheep,  has  no  one  to  blame  but  himself.  Others 
in  other  circumstances  may  do  well,  he  can  hardly  help 
doing  well  if  he  will  try." 

Its  parentage  is  claimed  by  many  States,  and  it  is  proba- 
bly indigenous  to  some  of  them,  though  some  authors  say  it 
was  introduced  from  Europe.  Let  that  be  as  it  may,  it 
grows  readily  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States  north  of  lati- 
tude 40°,  and  lower  down  on  suitable  soils.  It  flowers  in 
earliest  summer,  and  gives  a  rich  pasturage,  except  in 
the  dryest  months,  all  the  year.  It  varies  in  size  in  dif- 


BLUE   GRASS.  165 

ferent  localities  according  to  soil  and  climate.  From  the 
unexampled  success  its  cultivation  has  met  with  in  Ken- 
tucky, it  has  acquired  the  name  of  Kentucky  Blue  Grass, 
though  in  the  New  England  States  it  is  known  by  the  name 
of  "June  Grass." 

In  all  the  middle  portion  of  the  United  States,  it  forms 
the  principal  constituent  of  the  turf,  though  its  excellence  is 
rather  depreciated  in  the  Eastern  States,  the  farmers  there 
prefering  the  Meadow  Foxtail,  and  in  England  it  is  almost 
driven  from  the  country,  the  moist  condition  of  the  land 
there  not  being  favorable  to  its  development. 

In  some  sections  it  has  been  used  as  a  hay,  and  from  the 
analysis  hereunto  appended,  it  is  full  of  all  the  constituents 
of  nutrition.  But  it  is  not  a  success  as  a  meadow  grass, 
its  chief  excellence  being  exhibited  as  a  pasture  grass.  It 
endures  the  frosts  of  winters  better  than  any  other  grass 
we  have,  and  if  allowed  to  grow  rank  during  the  fail  months, 
it  will  turn  over  and  hide  beneath  its  covering  the  most 
luxuriant  of  winter  croppings.  Many  farmers  pass  their 
stock  through  the  entire  winter  on  it  alone,  feeding  only 
when  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow. 

As  a  lawn  grass,  it  stands  pre-eminent  among  all  others, 
its  rich  Paris-green  foliage,  its  uniform  growth  and  its  con  - 
stant  verdure  making  it  beautiful  both  summer  and  win- 
ter. 

It  would  seem  a  work  of  supererogation  to  try  to  argue 
as  to  the  advantages  of  cultivating  this  grass.  All  know 
its  benefits,  and  all  see  around  them  the  great  increase  in 
the  value  of  the  land  covered  with  it.  It  requires  but  little 
expense  to  secure  a  stand,  and  little  time  and  then  the  re- 
ward comes.  A  farm  well  set  in  blue  grass  will  yield  at 
least  $10  per  acre  in  grazing,  and  yet  men  who  have  farms 
with  all  the  constituents  necessary  to  produce  the  best  of 
grass  will  persistently  wear  it  out  in  cultivation  from  year 
to  year,  with  less  net  receipts  by  far  than  the  yield  of  a 
pasture. 


166  THE    GRASSES     OF    TENNESSEE. 

In  the  work  on  Wheat  Culture,  issued  from  this  office,  it 
has  been  shown  that  a  large  proportion  of  Middle  and  East 
Tennessee  abounds  in  limestone  rocks,  in  fact,  it  underlies 
the  basin  of  Middle  Tennessee  and  forms  most  of  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Eastern  mountains.  The  Blue  Grass  of  Ken- 
tucky is  made  from  soil  produced  by  precisely  the  same 
strata  of  rocks  here  seen.  Any  farmer  having  land  show- 
ing an  outcrop  of  limestone/  may  be  assured  he  has  the  nec- 
essary soil.  These  rocks  are  looked  upon  as  a  curse;  yet, 
without  their  preseuce,  we  could  not  have  the  magnificent 
parks  of  blue  grass  seen  around 

Never  was  a  time  more  propitious  than  the  present  for 
securing  a  fine  blue  grass  farm.  The  depreciation  of  the 
price  of  land  is  unequalled  in  our  time.  Its  intrinsic  value 
is  as  great  as  ever,  and  farms,  favorably  located,  can  now 
be  bought  for  from  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  per  acre,  that 
would,  after  being  stocked  with  this  grass,  bring  from  forty 
to  fifty  dollars  per  acre.  Our  hillsides  are  the  best  for  it, 
as  the  crumbling  debris  from  the  degradation  of  the  rocks, 
carried  down  by  rains,  will  be  a  perpetual  top-dressing  to 
the  pastures.  Besides,  a  dry,  rich  soil  is  better  suited  to  its 
production.  No  level  country  could  produce  so  continually 
good  blue  grass,  from  the  simple  fact,  it  could  not  receive 
regular  supplies  of  lime  as  a  stimulant  to  the  soil. 

These  lands  do  not  exist  everywhere  in  the  United  States, 
and  that  should  increase  their  value.  They  will  be  in  de- 
mand, and  that  soon.  The  tide  of  immigration  is  already  set 
towards  us,  and  the  thrifty  sons  of  the  North  will  readily 
see  the  great  advantage  of  these  limestone  soils  and  secure 
them.  The  wild  grasses  that  now  are  such  an  attraction  to 
immigrants,  on  the  table-lands' of  Tennessee,  will  ultimate- 
ly be  exhausted  by  the  increase  in  population,  while  the  de- 
mand for  food  and  every  variety  of  'domestic  animals  will 
be  proportionably  augmented  according  to  the  great  increase 
of  the  population.  Then  every  acre  of  land  that  will  pro- 
duce Blue  Grass,  will  be  in  active  demand  and  will  be  de- 


BLUE   GEASS.  167 

voted  to  stock  raising,  for  which  it  is  so  well  adapted,  and 
sheep  and  cattle  will  then  truly  fleck  every  hillside. 

The  fame  of  Kentucky  Blue  Grass  is  so  great,  that  tke 
majority  of  people  suppose  Tennessee  cannot  produce  as 
good,  and  they  demand  practical  evidence  of  the  fact.  We 
have  that  very  evidence  here  spread  out  before  our  eyes  in 
the  magnificent  pastures  of  those,  who  have  adopted  the 
proper  management.  Kentucky  has  famous  pastures,  be- 
cause in  the  outset  of  her  cultivation  of  the  Blue  Grass,  a 
system  of  management  was  adopted  that  proved  a  success, 
and  others  seeing  it,  also  adopt  it,  and  all  who  will  now 
follow  this  plan  will  meet  with  the  same  remunerative  re- 
turn. That  system  has  been  thoroughly  tested  both  in 
Kentucky  and  in  some  counties  in  Tennessee,  and  no  one 
has  made  a  failure  that  has  attempted  it.  Those  who  have 
put  themselves  to  the  trouble  of  learning  that  system,  and 
putting  it  in  practice,  have  made  as  good  grass  as  can  be 
made  in  Kentucky  or  elsewhere.  As  in  other  crops,  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  grass  are  in  exact  proportion  to  the 
care  and  management  bestowed  upon  it,  and  the  sod  is  as 
good,  the  blades  as  wide  and  long  as  can  be  seen  anywhere; 
but  this  all  depends  on  the  skill  and  attention  of  the  farmer. 
Some  will  sow  a  lot  and  then  put  in  cattle,  horses,  sheep 
and  hogs  to  keep  it  eaten  to  the  ground  throughout  the 
year.  Under  such  treatment  the  grass  disappears,  and  such 
farmers  conclude  their  soils  are  not  adapted  to  grass.  Let 
the  grass  get  a  vigorous  start.  Protect  it  from  stock  for 
the  first  year,  and  fertilize  it  with  stable  manure,  or  some  of 
the  superphosphates,  and  be  sure  not  to  over-crowd  the  pas- 
ture with  stock.  This  is  the  true  secret  of  having  good 
pastures. 

The  question  may  pertinently  be  asked,  if  our  State  can 
bring  as  good  Blue  Grass  as  Kentucky,  why  is  there  not 
good  pastures  here  as  well  as  there?  Why  is  not  every  acre 
in  Tennessee  capable  of  producing  it,  set  down  with  this 
magnificent  bounty  of  nature's  hand?  Most  farmers  believe 


168  THE    GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

it  will  grow  here.  They  cannot  but  know  it,  for  in  almost 
every  neighborhood  there  is  one  or  more  luxuriant  pastures; 
and  further,  they  know  they  are  very  profitable  to  their 
owners,  and  lend  a  charming  fascination  to  the  landscape. 
Every  farmer  knows  what  a  convenience  it  is  to  have  a 
Blue  Grass  pasture,  and  when  its  value  is  considered,  it  is 
difficult  to  account  for  the  fact  why  there  are  so  few.  Many 
a  farmer  has  land  suited  for  it,  possibly  so  rocky,  it  is  not 
worth  anything  for  cultivation,  and  thinks  every  year  that 
he  will  set  that  rocky  lot  down  in  Blue  Grass,  and  yet 
lie  waits  and  waits,  year  after  year,  and  is  still  found  mak- 
ing the  same  resolution  after  the  time  of  sowing  has  passed. 
There  is  no  excuse  for  this  delay.  When  the  sowing  time 
arrives  one  has  a  job  he  wants  to  finish,  and  when  he  is 
through  that  he  imagines  it  is  too  late.  Another  has  not 
the  money  to  spare  for  the  seed,  yet  all  are  going  to  sow, 
and  thus  procrastination  keeps  in  sight  the  rocky,  fruitless 
slopes  instead  of  having  them  with  a  green  sod  of  Blue 
Grass  to  contrast  with  the  lichen  of  the  rocks,  and  crowd  its 
green  spires  in  every  crevice,  to  supply  nutriment  to  hun- 
gry sheep  and  cattle. 

It  may  seem  that  it  is  so  costly,  many  will  not  make  the 
effort.  One  man  has  a  large  farm,  and  to  get  a  stand  over 
the  whole,  it  would  really  cost  a  considerable  sum,  and  so 
he  cannot  make  up  his  mind  to  spend  that  much  at  once, 
but  rather  than  sow  one  lot  one  year,  and  another  lot  an- 
other year,  he  waits  until  he  can  sow  all  at  once,  and  that 
time  never  comes. 

But  if  the  farmers  will  watch  the  system  of  managing 
Blue  Grass  and  learn  it  from  those  who  have  succeeded,  they 
will  soon  become  so  enthusiastic  that  every  acre,  capable  of 
producing  it  in  Tennessee,  will  be  seeded,  and  we  shall  have 
a  country  as  beautiful  as  the  world- wide  famous  Blue  Grass- 
region  of  Kentucky.  It  may  be  interesting  to  know  how 
and  when  that  region  began  the  cultivation  of  it.  Dr.  F. 
H.  Gordon,  of  Smith  county,  early  became  impressed  with 


BLUE    GRASS.  169 

its  importance  and  visited  the  neighborhood  in  which  its 
culture  began,  for  the  express  purpose  of  investigation,  and 
here  is  the  result  of  his  visit : 

"Some  seventy  years  ago,  says  Dr.  Gordon,  writing  in 
1871,  two  young  men,  named  Cunningham,  came  from  the 
south  branch  of  the  Potomac,  in  Virginia,  to  Strode's  creek, 
in  Bourbon  county,  Kentucky.  They  had  studied  and  prac- 
ticed the  Blue  Grass  system  on  the  Potomac.  They  jointly 
purchased  two  hundred  acres  of  land  on  Strode's  creek,  and 
sowed  the  whole  tract  in  timothy  and  Blue  Grass.  In  a  few 
years  their  whole  tract  was  covered  with  a  luxuriant  coat  of 
grass.  They  had  brought -with  them  the  seed,  on  a  pack 
horse,  all  the  way  from  Virginia.  Their  farm  soon  attracted 
the  attention  of  their  neighbors,  who  began  to  visit  and 
learn  how  to  manage  grass.  In  1835,  I  too,  went  to  see  the 
Cunninghams  and  many  other  farmers  in  the  Blue  Grass  re- 
gion, in  order  to  learn  the  system.  I  devoted  many  weeks 
to  the  study  of  the  system — going  with  the  best  farmers  over 
their  farms  and  seeing  their  management;  asking  many 
questions  and  writing  down  their  answers.  Then  the  Cun- 
ninghams, like  many  others,  had  grown  to  be  wealthy  on 
the  profits  of  the  Blue  Grass.  One  of  them,  Robert,  then  had 
two  thousand  acres  in  Blue  Grass  and  Isaac  had  three  thou- 
sand. Nearly  all  the  farmers  I  visited,  owed  the  luxury  of 
their  Blue  Grass  to  the  direct  instruction  of  the  Cunning- 
hams. To  me  it  was  a  feast  to  travel  over  and  view  the 
fine  sod  of  grass  on  the  first  two  hundred  acres  which  had 
caused  the  whole  Blue  Grass  region  to  become  so  beautiful, 
prosperous  and  wealthy. 

While  learning  the  Blue  Grass  system,  I  saw  in  every 
neighborhood  that  those  who  had  studied  the  system  closest, 
had  the  best  pastures  invariably.  You  can  see  in  all  that 
region  of  Blue  Grass,  some  farms  where  all  the  lots  look  like 
some  of  ours  in  Tennessee,  which  are  gnawed  all  the 
year  round  by  calves,  sheep  and  geese.  This  is  because 
the  owner  does  not  think  enough  about  its  management. 


170  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

He  does  all  the  work  and  incurs  all  the  expense  necessary 
to  make  the  richest  pastures  and  then  wastes  it  all  by  bad 
and  thoughtless  management.  But  there  are  some  farmers 
in  almost  every  county  in  Tennessee,  who  well  understand 
the  Kentucky  system.  Those  who  intend  to  sow  grass  may 
learn  the  system  from  them.  What  a  scene  of  comfort, 
beauty,  luxury  and  wealth,  will  this  whole  Middle  Tennes- 
see present,  when  it  shall  be  covered  with  the  richest  Blue 
Grass !  Such  will  be  the  future  of  this  fine  country.77 

"Much  has  been  published  lately  about  immigation.  But 
in  justice  to  our  own  Tennesseeans,  who  own  this  valuable 
soil,  I  will  say  that  we  can  ourselves  sow  all  our  valuable 
hills  with  Blue  Grass,  without  the  aid  of  labor  from  abroad. 
"We  do  not  need  many  laborers  to  make  grass.  It  will  al- 
ways pay  a  good  profit.  Every  acre  will  pay  its  taxes  and 
a  good  profit  besides.  We  now  till  too  much  land.  We 
ought  to  till  less  and  make  more  grass.  Let  not  an  acre  be 
idle.  There  is  our  true  interest.  We  need  grass  more 
than  voters  or  laborers.  Cotton,  tobacco,  rice,  hemp  and 
sugar  need  laborers,  but  grass  does  not.  If  we  sow  our 
lands  in  grass  we  can  do  without  so  much  labor.  The  in- 
disposition of  farmers  to  take  advantage  of  experience,  is 
shown  in  the  following  case,  which  is  in  point  :77 

"I  know  a  rocky  lot  of  about  six  acres  which  I  myself 
sowed  in  1835.  During  last  year  (1870),  it  afforded  a 
profit  to  the  present  owner  of  full  ten  dollars  per  acre.  The 
owner  has  no  grass  on  the  balance  of  his  land,  and  does  not 
intend  to  have  any.  He  has  lived,  during  his  whole  life,  in 
sight  of  rich  pastures  of  Blue  Grass,  and  knows  that  his 
whole  tract  will  produce  as  good  grass  as  those  pastures. 
Yet  he  will  not  sow  grass.  The  reader  will  say  that  this 
farmer,  with  his  six  rocky  acres  of  Blue  Grass,  is  a  singular 
man.  But  he  is  not  very,  singular.  Because  hundreds  of 
farmers  here  know  just  as  well  the  value  of  Blue  Grass 
as  he  does,  and  yet  they  do  not  sow  it.  Doubtless  many 
readers  know  it  as  well,  and  yet  do  not  sow.  They  know, 


BLUE   GRASS.  171 

too,  that  it  is  very  profitable,  still  they  do  not  make  the 
pastures.  Why?  Why?  Why?  Will  every  reader  who  has 
n<>  Blue  Grass  answer?  Yes,  many  of  them  have  answered 
me  hundreds  of  times.  One  is  not  ready  just  now.  An- 
other cannot  spare  the  money  to  buy  seed.  They  are  all 
going  to  sow  when  they  get  ready.  I  know  some  farmers 
who  have  been,  for  thirty  years,  going  to  sow  grass  before 
long,  and  the  time  has  not  yet  come  for  them  to  begin." 

"Again  comes  up  the  seemingly  meddlesome  question, 
why?  I  will  give  the  true  answer.  Our  farmers  have  as 
much  intelligence  as  farmers  anywhere;  but  they  do  not  sow 
yrass,  because  they  do  not  understand  well  the  system  of  man- 
agement. They  have  not  studied  it  in  good  earnest.  There- 
fore, they  do  not  know  how  little  labor  "and  expense  are 
necessary  to  get  a  stand  of  grass.  Their  own  reasoning 
teaches  them  wrongly,  that  the  making  of  grass  is  a  big 
and  costly  process;  therefore,  they  slowly  undertake  it.  If 
they  knew  how  little  labor  and  expense  will  set  a  large  tract 
in  grass,  they  would  not  delay  one  instant.  If  they  will 
decide  in  their  own  minds  that  they  do  not  understand  how 
to  make  grass,  and  will  apply  to  those  who  understand  it, 
then  they  will  all  learn,  that  they  are  able,  and  have  time 
enough  to  set  their  lands  in  grass.  Then  they  will  do  it 
speedily." 

"They  must  first  learn  how  to  get  a  stand.  Then  they 
must  learn  how  to  manage,  so  as  to  make  a  dense  and  profit- 
able sod.  It  requires  much  more  thinking  than  expense 
and  labor  to  make  good  grass.  Those  farmers  who  have 
well  studied  the  Blue  Grass  system,  and  have  themselves 
covered  their  lands  with  rich  pastures,  can,  and  will  freely 
instruct  all  who  may  apply  to  them  to  learn  the  system. 
If  our  farmers  here  will  do  as  the  Kentuckians  did,  they 
will  all  soon  have  plenty  of  good  grass." 

We  cannot  but  commend  the  above  sensible  extract  from 
this  eminent  writer  on  agriculture,  to  the  attention  of  all 
readers.  And  if  the  traveler  will  notice,  as  he  passes  through 


172  THE    GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

Smith  county,  from  Lebanon  to  Carthage,  he  will  see,  on 
every  side,  the  result  of  his  teachings  and  example.  In 
order  to  give  point  to  the  foregoing  remarks,  we  will  now 
proceed  to  treat  on  the  best  plan  to  secure  a  good  stand  of 
Blue  Grass,  and  in  doing  so,  will  not  be  governed  only  by 
our  own  experience,  but  also  by  our  observation  of  the  suc- 
cess of  others. 

BLUE    GRASS    LANDS. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  lands  most  productive 
of  Blue  Grass  are  the  calcareous  soils.  Lime  is  a  natural 
stimulant  to  it,  and  it  flourishes  best  where  natural  supplies 
of  this  salt  are  found.  Go  into  a  pasture  that  has  an  occa- 
sional out-cropping  of  limestone  and  the  sprigs  of  grass, 
surrounding  the  rock  will  be  found  more  luxuriant  than 
anywhere  else.  Our  lower  silurian  formation  then,  where- 
ever  found,  may  be  safely  sown  in  this  grass.  The  Basin 
of  Middle  Tennessee,  the  mountains  and  valleys  of  East 
Tenneseee,  and  the  black  alluvial  deposits  of  the  rivers  of 
West  Tennessee  being  supplied  with  lime  from  the  sources 
whence  the  streams  flow,  are  all  well  suited  for  this  grass. 
It  also  grows  upon  many  places  amongst  the  hills  of  the 
river,  though  not  so  luxuriantly  as  in  the  black  loams  of  the 
silurian  and  devonian  formations.  Lime,  though  a  great 
stimulant  to  its  growth,  is  not  an  essential  ingredient  in  the 
soil.  It  grows  on  the  sandy  hills  of  Alabama  and  Georgia, 
but  not  so  rank  as  on  limestone  soils.  Blue  Grass  will  always 
grow  well  under  walnut  trees. 

We  have  in  Middle  and  East  Tennessee  the  same  charac- 
ter of  soil  that  exists  in  the  Blue  Grass  country  of  Kentucky, 
and,  owing  to  our  milder  climate,  can  produce  a  better  win- 
ter pasturage  than  can  be  produced  in  the  colder  climate  of 
Kentucky.  Little  land  exists  in  Tennessee  but  what  will 
produce  this  grass  profitably. 

Select  the  lot  to  be  sown,  and  clean  off  all  brush,  leaves 
and  briars.  If  it  cannot  be  done  with  a  stalk-rake,  use  hand 
rakes,  as  the  seed  must  come  in  contact  with  the  soil.  Seed 


BLUE   GRASS  173 

sown  on  a  bed  of  leaves  will  soon  germinate,  but  the  root- 
lets, being  unable  to  burrow  in  the  soil,  will  quickly 
parch  up  and  die.  If  the  land  is  thickly  covered  with  trees, 
it  will  not  thrive  well,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  the  timber 
should  be  thinned  out.  Leave  the  tallest  trees  that  are 
really  the  more  valuable,  taking  ofi  the  low,  bushy  kinds 
that  make  too  much  shade.  It  is  an  admitted  fact,  that 
Blue  Grass  does  better  in  partial  shade  than  when  there  is 
none.  It  does  not  endure  a  drought  as  well  as  some  other 
grasses,  and  consequently  some  degree  of  shade  is  essential 
to  protect  it  from  the  scorching  rays  of  midsummer. 

TIME    AND    MANNER   OF    SOWING. 

So  many  seasons  have  been  recommended  as  the  proper 
time  of  sowing,  that  it  may  be  said  each  one,  under  fa- 
vorable circumstances,  is  a  good  time.  One  Kentucky  far- 
mer says:  "Any  time  in  the  winter,  when  snow  is  on  the 
ground,  sow  broadcast  from  three  to  four  quarts  of  clean 
seed  to  the  acre.  With  the  spring  the  seeds  germinate  and 
are  very  fine  and  delicate  in  the  spouts.  No  stock  should 
be  allowed  for  the  first  year,  nor  until  the  grass  seeds  in 
June  for  the  first  time,  the  second  year.  The  best  plan  is 
turn  on  your  stock  when  the  seeds  ripen  in  June.  Graze 
off  your  grass,  then  allow  the  fall  growth,  and  graze  all 
winter,  taking  care  never  to  feed  the  grass  closely  at  any 
time." 

Another  authority  says:  "Follow  nature  and  obey  her 
dictates.  The  seeds  ripen  in  June,  and  are  scattered  by  the 
winds  and  rains  as  soon  as  ripe,  and  therefore,  sow  your 
seeds  as  soon  as  they  can  be  gathered." 

This  plan  might  be  a  proper  one  in  a  colder  or  moister 
climate  than  ours,  but  here  it  would  result  in  the  grass  being 
often  dried  up  by  the  drought  that  are  almost  invariable 
in  the  latter  part  of  summer. 

Many  sow,  as  stated  in  the  above  quotation,  on  winter 
snows,  and  that  is  a  very  good  plan,  but  care  should  be 


174  THE    GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

observed  to  have  the  ground  free  from  leaves  before  the 
snow  falls. 

There  are  others  who  sow  in  the  latter  part  of  February 
or  first  of  March,  and  this  sometimes  does  as  well  as  any 
provided  time  is  given  for  the  grass  to  get  sufficient  hold  to 
resist  the  withering  effects  of  the  summer's  drought.  The 
main  care  to*  be  taken,  is  to  get  the  grass  large  enough  to 
live  through  freezing  or  dry  weather.  It  will  resist  the 
effects  of  frost  better  than  heat  however,  and  taking  this 
into  consideration,  the  most  approved  time  of  sowing  is  in 
the  latter  part  of  August  or  first  of  September.  If  sown  at 
this  time  the  autumnal  rains  will  germinate  the  seed, 
and  besides,  at  this  season  there  is  comparatively  little 
trash  on  the  ground,  the  leaves  having  not  yet  fallen.  The 
ground  being  prepared,  the  seeds  are  sown  broadcast,  at  the 
rate  of  one  bushel  per  acre,  and  the  sower  should  be  fol- 
lowed with  a  harrow,  or  if  the  ground  is  very  loose,  with  a 
stiff  brush.  This  will  give  them  a  sufficient  covering.  It 
is  a  fact,  demonstrated  by  actual  experiment,  as  shown  in 
one  of  the  tables  herein  contained,  that  grass  seeds  will  veg- 
etate best  at  a  depth  of  one-quarter  of  an  inch.  It  may  be  sup- 
posed that,  with  no  more  covering  than  will  be  given  by  a 
harrow  or  brush,  a  great  many  seeds  will  be  uncovered. 
This  is  very  true,  but  in  one  pound  of  Blue  Grass  seeds, 
(clean  seed)  there  are  3,888,000  seeds.  By  a  computation 
every  square  inch  of  surface  contains  from  ten  to  twelve 
seeds.  With  this  amount  on  the  surface,  one  scarcely  need 
fear  a  stand,  when,  if  one  or  two  take  root,  there  will  be  in 
a  year  an  excessively  close  turf. 

There  can  be  but  little  difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to 
the  treading  of  stock  after  sowing.  All  writers  and  farmers 
agree,  that  for  one  year,  at  least,  it  should  be  kept  from  all 
stock.  After  that,  there  is  some  difference. 

Dr.  Gordon,  who,  as  before  stated,  paid  more  attention 
to  it  than  any  one  else  in  the  State,  adopted  a  plan  of  man- 
agement that  has  been  repeatedly  tested,  with  uniform  suc- 
cess. It  was  this : 


BLUE   GRASS.  175 

He  sowed,  either  in  the  autumn  or  spring  months  indis- 
criminately, as  suited  his  convenience.  He  usually  sowed 
with  rye,  wheat,  or  barley,  if  sowed  in  an  open  field,  but  if 
in  a  woods  lot,  he  sowed  with  rye,  or  after  a  crop  of  millet. 
At  any  rate,  the  soil  must  be  well  cleaned  off  and  broken 
up,  as  well  as  the  nature  of  the  land  permits,  then  after  the 
grain  is  sown  the  land  is  harrowed,  and  if  possible,  rolled. 
After  this,  the  grass  seeds  were  sown  and  brushed  lightly. 
Immediately  afterwards  all  the  cattle,  horses  and  sheep  were 
turned  in  that  could  be  secured.  If  there  was  not  enough 
on  his  place  he  borrowed  his  neighbors'  stock,  and  let  them 
run  on  it  until  the  ground  was  well  packed  all  over  the 
surface,  and  then,  and  not  until  then,  were  they  removed. 
If  after  millet,  (and  that  is  greatly  recommended,  as  it  de- 
stroys more  effectively  than  anything  else  all  weeds,)  harrow 
about  the  first  of  September  thoroughly,  sow  the  seed, 
brush  as  before,  and  then  turn  on  the  stock.  If  it  is 
desired  to  sow  in  the  spring,  in  the  latter  part  of  February 
or  early  in  March,  if  not  practicable  sooner,  harrow  the 
grain  field,  the  ground  having  been  well  prepared  in  the  fall 
sowing,  sow  the  seed  and  then  turn  stock  on  the  wheat, 
rye,  or  barley,  as  the  case  may  be.  Oat  land  may  be  sown 
in  the  same  way.  The  treading  of  the  stock  packs  in  the 
seeds  and  prevents  the  grass  from  drying  up  in  the  summer 
heats,  or  freezing  out  in  frosts.  Dr.  Gordon  considered  an 
open,  loose  porous  surface,  to  be  unfavorable  to  the  safety 
of  the  young  grass,  but  if  packed  as  directed,  the  grass  will 
quickly  spring  up,  get  a  firm  hold,  and  the  loose  condition 
of  the  subsoil  will  favor  the  transmission  of  the  roots  to  a 
good  depth. 

The  after  treatment  is  simple,  and  that  is  to  allow  no 
stock  on  during  the  first  year,  but  as  soon  as  the  seed  stalks 
begin  to  shoot  up  the  next  year,  pasture  it  so  closely  that 
it  can  not  go  to  seed. 

Dr.  Gordon  differs  in  this  respect  from  other  authors,  who 
allow  it  to  seed  one  time  for  purposes  stated  below.  He 


176  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

would  not  let  it  seed  at  all.  His  great  success  in  this  branch 
of  agriculture  will,  in  every  country  where  he  is  known, 
give  weight  to  his  authority. 

Others  say  no  stock  should  go  on  it  for  at  least  two  years, 
or  at  least  until  after  the  first  seeding,  which  will  take  place 
in  June  of  the  second  year.  Some  of  the  best  Blue  Grass 
lots  in  Middle  Tennessee  have  been  started  by  following 
either  of  the  above  plans.  Of  one  thing,  there  cannot  be  a 
doubt,  and  that  is  the  ground  should  not  be  well  broken  up. 
On  the  surface  it  should  be  as  firmly  packed  as  possible  to 
secure  a  perfect  stand  and  form  a  perfect  turf.  When  the 
surface  is  too  loose,  the  grass  easily  dries  up,  and  is  much 
easier  frozen  out,  the  seeds  not  going  into  a  germinating  depth. 
Under  favorable  weather,  seed  sown  in  the  spring  on  a  crop 
of  oats,  will  do  as  well  as  fall  sowing.  What  is  meant  by 
favorable  weather,  is  that  no  unusual  dry  weather  super- 
venes. But  there  is  always  the  risk  of  meeting  with  unfa- 
vorable weather  in  spring  sowing,  and  on  that  account  we 
would  recommend  sowing  in  autumn.  But  it  is  better  the 
sowing  should  take  place  as  early  in  the  fall  as  the  weather 
will  permit,  or,  indeed,  the  latter  part  of  summer,  if  there 
is  a  proper  degree  of  moisture  in  the  soil.  Some  farmers 
sow  a  limited  amount  of  seed  daily  and  over  the  same  sur- 
face sprinkle  shelled  corn,  then  turn  on  their  hogs.  They 
root  in  search  of  the  corn  and  thus  plant  the  seed,  doing  the 
work  of  plow  and  harrow.  This,  to  say  the  least,  is  a  slov- 
enly plan,  and  though  possibly  securing  a  good  stand  the 
ground  is  so  roughened,  it  can  never  make  a  beautiful  pas- 
ture. 

If  the  land  is  loose  as  some  soils  are,  it  will  answer  a 
very  good  purpose  to  scratch  up  the  surface  well  with  a 
sharp  toothed  harrow,  and  this  is  especially  the  case  where 
the  roots  of  undergrowth  exist  to  a  great  extent. 

AFTER   TREATMENT. 

Of  one  fact,  there  cannot  be  a  doubt,  and  in  this  lies  the 
whole  secret  of  having  remunerative  pastures  of  Blue  Grass, 


BLUE   GEASS.  177 

and  that  is,  do  not  pasture  it  to  death.  It  is  true,  it  will 
stand  almost  unlimited  grazing,  but  there  is  a  point  beyond 
which  it  will  cease  to  be  profitable,  and  that  limit  should  never 
be  passed.  The  better  plan,  is  to  have  the  lots  divided,  and 
allow  the  stock  on  one  until  it  is  cropped  down,  and  then,  when 
no  longer  any  pickings  can  be  taken  from  it,  do  not  allow 
the  stock  to  continue  to  tread  it,  simply  to  have  them  on  a 
grass  lot.  It  will  not  only  do  the  stock  no  good,  but,  by 
constant  tramping,  the  grass  is  unable  to  throw  up  any  fo- 
liage, and  in  time  it  will  die,  for  the  roots  must  draw 
some  nourishment  from  the  atmosphere,  or  they  will  perish. 
Allow  the  grass  to  recuperate,  by  changing  the  stock  from 
one  pasture  to  another,  and  never  over-stock  it.  Grass  that 
will  keep  ten  oxen  in  growing  order,  will  fatten  five  oxen 
quickly.  Stock  of  all  kinds  are  constant  feeders,  and  there 
should  always  be  forage  enough  to  enable  them  to  get  plenty 
to  eat  without  the  labor  of  hunting  for  it. 

There  is  much  variety  of  opinion  on  the  amount  of  stock 
that  ought  to  be  put  on  an  acre.  This  arises  from  the  dif- 
ference in  the  capacity  of  the  land,  some  soils  being  rich, 
dry  and  porous  will  stand  much  heavier  grazing  than 
others.  It  is  safer  to  err  on  the  safe  side,  and  it  is  better 
to  put  in  too  few  than  too  many.  If  stock  are  fattened 
quickly,  they  are  more  remunerative  than  when  fattened 
slowly.  Then,  when  one  lot  is  sold  out,  they  can  be  re- 
placed by  others.  Ordinarily  two  acres  of  good  grass  are  re- 
quisite for  one  three-year  old  ox,  and  what  will  fatten  one  ox 
will  fatten  ten  head  of  sheep. 

Blue  Grass  should  be  allowed  to  go  to  seed  once  or  twice, 
or  until  the  ground  is  well  set  or  turfed  over,  and  then  never 
more.  It  is  a  grass  that  propagates  itself  by  its  creeping 
roots  or  rhizomes,  and  it  is  the  disposition  of  all  plants  and 
animals  to  lose  vitality  in  the  process  of  reproduction. 

Though  perennial,  this  habit  is  upon  it,  and  though  it 
does  not  actually  die,  its  vitality  is  so  lowered  by  the  effort, 
that  it  lies  dormant  for  some  time  afterwards,  before  start- 
12 


178 


THE   GKASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


ing  again  its  vigorous  growth.  Stock  should  be  kept  out 
at  seeding  time,  or  before,  in  fact,  so  as  not  to  eat  down  the 
seed  stalks,  as  they  will  do. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  dry  weather  sets  in  during  the 
summer  months,  and  the  grass  becomes  so  dry  it  will  burn. 
Still  stock  will  greedily  eat  it.  The  grass  having  dried 
full  of  nourishing  juices,  it  is  equal  to  the  best  of  hay,  and 
stock  will  still  fatten  upon  it  unless  the  dried  grass  has 
been  drenched  with  rains. 

The  fall  growth  of  some  lots  should  be  kept  untouched 
by  stock,  and  in  this  way,  a  fine  winter  pasturage  will  be 
secured.  The  grass  will  get  high  enough  to  fall  over  and 
protect  the  surface  foliage,  and  stock  will  keep  up  their 
flesh  on  it  during  the  winter  without  feed.  When  snows 
Ml,  cattle  will  require  to  be  fed,  but  horses,  mules  and 
sheep  will  paw  off  the  snow,  unless  it  is  too  deep,  and  get  at 
the  grass.  It  is  the  first  deciduous  plant  that  puts  forth 
its  leaves  in  the  spring.  Good  fat  lambs  can  be  sent 
into  the  market  earlier  than  from  any  other  grass.  It 
makes  milk  rich  in  butter,  and  gives  the  latter  a  fine  golden 
color,  without  changing  its  taste,  or,  like  clover,  imparting 
its  peculiar  flavor  to  it. 

The  following  is  an  analysis  of  this  grass  as  compared 
with  some  other  well  known  grasses :  (Way.) 

1ST.  DRIED  AT  A   TEMPERATURE  OF  212°. 


100  PAET8  OF 

FLESH 
FOEMING 
PEINCIPLES. 

FATTY 
MATTEES. 

HEAT 
PEODTJOING 
PBINOIPLES. 

WOODY 
FIBEE. 

| 

Blue  Grass  give  

10.35 

2  63 

43  06 

38  02 

5  94 

Timothy                ... 

11.86 

3  55 

53  35 

26  46 

5  28 

Orchard  Gras  *  

13.53 

3.14 

44.  33 

33.70 

5  31 

Clover         ... 

22.55 

3  67 

44.47 

19  75 

9  56 

White  Clover  

18  76 

4.38 

40.04 

26.53 

10.29 

Sweet  Scented  Vernal 

10.43 

3  41 

43.48 

36  36 

6  36 

BLUE   GRASS.  1T9 

2ND.   AS  TAKEN   FROM   THE    FIELD   IN   BLOSSOM. 


WITHOUT  DRYING  100    PAET8  OF 

Ij 

FLESH 

FORMING 
PRINCIPLES. 

•0    H 
fe    < 

•<  p  & 

11 

Blue  Grass  give       ...        

67.14 

3  41 

0.86 

14.15 

12.49 

70.00 

4.06 

0.94 

13.30 

1011 

Timothy  

57.21 

486 

1.50 

22.85 

11,82 

Red  Clover     ...          

81  01 

4.27 

0.69 

8.45 

3.76 

White  Clover  

79.71 

3.80 

0.89 

8.14 

5.38 

Sweet  Scented  Vernal  .        .        ... 

80.35 

2.05 

0.67 

8.54 

7.15 

Wolff  and  Knopfs  analyses  differ  some  from  these,  as  will 
be  seen  by  referring  to  page  36. 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  tables  that  Blue  Grass  ranks 
close  up  to  the  best  and  most  popular  hay  grasses  culti- 
vated in  Tennessee,  and  is  about  equal  to  sweet  scented 
vernal  grass,  which  stands  at  the  head  of  the  pasture 
grasses  in  the  Eastern  States,  but  is  not  really  so  productive 
as  the  former. 

There  is,  in  all  pastures,  a  number  of  bare  spots  that 
seem  to  resist  the  efforts  of  Blue  Grass  to  sod.  By  mixhig 
other  seeds  with  the  Blue  Grass,  these  spots  can  be  made  to 
produce  as  well  as  other  places.  In  a  natural  meadow,  by 
careful  counting,  several  species  are  often  found  growing 
intimately  on  every  inch  of  earth.  A  table  found  elsewhere 
details  the  result  of  an  actual  count,  and  it  is  there  seen  that 
on  a  good  natural  pasture  in  one  square  foot  of  sod,  there 
were  1,000  plants,  consisting  of  twenty  distinct  species.  This 
is  nature's  own  arrangement,  and  may  safely  be  copied.  In 
such  a  pasture  not  an  inch  of  surface  is  unoccupied.  It 
may  be  thought  an  inch  or  two  here  and  there,  makes  but  lit- 
tle difference  in  the  space  occupied.  But  every  blade  of  grass 
is  of  some  importance,  and  it  is  astonishing  the  aggregate 
of  these  barren  places.  Below  is  a  table  of  seeds  that  is 
respectfully  reoommended  to  those  wishing  to  start  a  goad 
pasture. 


180  THE   GRASSES   OF  TENNESSEE. 

MIXTURE   FOR  PERMANENT  PASTURE. 

Orchard  Grass  flowers  in  May  and  June 4  Iba. 

Sweet  Scented  Vernal  flowers  in  April  and  May 2  " 

Sheep  Fescue  flowers  in  May  and  June 4  " 

Herds  Grass  flowers  in  June  and  July 4  " 

Blue  Grass  flowers  in  May  and  June 8  " 

Italian  Rye  Grass  flowers  in  June 4  •' 

Red  Clover  flowers  in  May  and  June 6  " 

32 

This  mixture  is  enough  for  one  acre  of  ground  and  none 
too  much.  Remember  the  old  adage :  "He  that  sows  spar- 
ingly shall  reap  sparingly."  It  is  better  to  sow  too  much 
seed  than  too  little.  If  too  much  the  weaker  sprigs  will  die 
and  the  grass  will  soon  accommodate  itself  to  the  capacity  of 
the  soil,  but  if  too  little  is  sown,  it  will  require  years  for  the 
pasture  to  be  sodded,  and  the  owner  will  be  lying  out  of  the 
use  of  so  much  soil  during  all  that  time.  The  wisdom  of 
this  mixture  is  seen  at  a  glance  by  examining  its  several 
constituents.  The  blue  grass,  orchard  grass,  fescue,  vernal 
and  rye  grass  will  be  permanent.  The  clover  takes  posses- 
sion first  and  affords  for  two  years  an  immediate  pasture  or 
meadow,  as  may  be  desired.  By  the  time  the  clover  gives 
out,  the  grasses  have  a  fine  foothold.  In  the  Northern 
States  farmers  invariably  mix  white  clover  with  their  seeds, 
but  iu  Tennessee  this  is  unneceesary,  as  that  valuable  forage 
plant  comes  up  as  it  were  spontaneously  every  where.  And, 
though  many  farmers  are  prejudiced  against  white  clover, 
no  more  valuable  native  forage  plant  exists  in  Tennessee. 

Now,  once  more,  let  it  be  urged  on  the  farmers  of  Ten- 
nessee to  look  into  this  matter  of  pastures,  and  provide 
themselves  with  this  highly  important  adjunct  to  every  farm. 
No  home  is  complete  without  pastures,  and  yet  there  are 
many  who  will  depend  either  upon  the  fortuitous  wild  grasses 
for  grazing,  or  feed  from  the  crib,  their  stock  all  through 
the  year.  With  a  rich  Blue  Grass  lot,  no  stock  need  be  fed, 
except  while  |t  work,  and,  indeed,  it  is  sometimes  the  case 


EOUGH   MEADOW   GRASS.  181 

that  in  dry,  scarce  years,  crops  have  been  made  with  horses 

and  mules,  that  had  no  other  provender  than  a  Blue  Grass 

lot. 

BOUGH  MEADOW  GBASS— (Poa  Trivialis.) 

Culms  roughish  backwards,  leaves  rough  edge,  the  lower  elongated; 
Lgules  long,  pointed;  panicles  dense  lance  shaped  spikelets  subsessile, 
two  to  three  flowered  oblong  acute,  five  veined,  flowers  in  May  and  June 
in  the  latitude  of  Tennessee. 

This  is  a  perennial,  and  to  the  common  observer,  very 
much  resembles  blue  grass.  In  the  North  it  is  a  common 
meadow  and  pasture  grass,  mixing  well  with  orchard  grass, 
making  twice  as  much  when  mixed  with  other  grasses  as 
when  sown  by  itself.  It  delights  in  shady  places,  and  is 
admirably  adapted  to  wood  pastures  and  the  banks  of  streams. 
It  stands  tramping  as  well  as  herds  grass,  but  will  not  bear 
cutting,  as  the  exposure  of  the  roots  to  the  sunshine  soon 
kills  it.  The  seed  weighs  fifteen  pounds  to  the  bushel,  and 
two-thirds  oi  a  bushel  is  amply  sufficient  for  an  acre. 

Cattle  are  very  fond  of  it,'  preferring  it  to  almost  any 
other  grass.  Way's  analysis  of  it  cut  in  flower,  shows  the 
following  result:  Water,  73.60;  flesh-formers,  2.58;  fat, 
0.97;  heat-producers,  10.54;  woody  fibre,  10.11;  ash,  2.20- 
Messrs.  Scheven  &  Bitthausen's  analysis  shows:  Water 
78;  flesh-formers,  2.3;  fat,  0.8;  heat  producers,  8.4 ; 
woody  fibre,  8.8;  ash,  1.6.  Wolff  and  Knops'  analysis 
may  be  seen  on  page  36.  Woburn  experiments  by  Sinclair 
gave  7,486  pounds  per  acre  cut  in  flower;  loss  in  drying^ 
5,246  pounds;  nutritive  matter,  233  pounds.  Cut  in  seed 
produce  of  one  acre,  was  7,829  pounds;  loss  in  drying,  4,304 
pounds;  nutritive  matter,  336  pounds.  The  produce  of  the 
aftermath  was  4,764  pounds  and  223  pounds  of  nutritive 
matter.  The  chief  destinction  between  this  and  the  blue 
grass  is,  that  the  blue  grass  has  a  wooly  web  which  en- 
tangles the  seeds,  making  it  difficult  to  sow  them.  In  the 
Poa  Trivialis  the  seeds  are  comparatively  free.  We  have 
spoken  of  it  under  the  head  of  Meadow  grasses,  though  it  is 
far  better  for  the  pasture. 


182  THE   GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 


CHAPTEK  XV. 

CREEPING  MEADOW  GRASS — STRONG-SCENTED  MEADOW 
GRASS  —  SLENDER  MEADOW  GRASS  —  MEADOW  COMB 
GRASS — QUAKING  GRASS — SMALL  FESCUE — SHEEP  FES- 
CUE— MEADOW  FESCUE,  AND  OTHER  FESCUE  GRASSES — 
COMMON  REED  GRASS. 

CREEPING  MEADOW  GnA.SS.~(Eragrostis  reptans) 

This  is  an  annual  grass;  flowers  in  July,  and  grows  eight  to  eighteen 
inches  high.  It  has  short,  nearly  awl-shaped  leaves,  smooth,  long 
spikelets,  loose  sheaths,  slightly  hairy  on  the  margin;  panicles  from  one 
to  two  inches  long.  It  has  long,  creeping  roots. — Flint. 

It  is  very  common  in  open  pastures  and  fence  corners, 
and  is  relished  by  stock;  but,  being  an  annual  is  not  worthy 
of  being  sown. 

STRONG-SCENTED    MEADOW    GRASS.-  (Eragrostis  Po<z- 
oides. 

Another  species  of  the  same  genus  is  this  grass,  with  flat  and  smooth 
leaves;  lower  sheaths  hairy,  spikelets  containing  from  ten  to  twenty 
florets,  of  a  lead  color,  and  flowers  in  August.  Found  mostly  on  road- 
sides and  in  old  gravelly  fields.  It  has  a  strong,  disagreeable  smell  but 
handsome  in  appearnce. 

SLENDER  MEADOW  GrHA.SS.~(Eragrostis  pilosa.) 

Large,  loose,  pyramidal  panicle;  spikelets  from  five  to  twelve  flow- 
ered, of  a  purplish  lead  color;  glumes  and  lower  palea  obtuse;  grows 
from  six  to  twelve  inches  high. — Mint. 

This,  like  the  former,  is  found  in  old  fields  or  sandy 
barrens.  It  is  one  of  the  grasses  occupying  the  "barrens," 
and  serves  a  good  purpose  in  sustaining  cattle  in  these  un- 
occupied places.  It  is  also  cultivated  in  gardens,  like  the 
preceding,  as  an  ornament  for  bouquets.  Annual. 


MEADOW   COMB   GRASS — QUAKING  GRASS  183 

MEADOW   COMB   GrHASS."(Eragrostis  pectinacea.) 

Panicles  widely  diffuse;  spikelets  flat,  five  to  fifteen  flowered,  purple; 
glumes  and  flowers  acute ;  lower  pale  three  nerved ;  leaves  rigid,  long 
and  hairy.  Perennial.  —Flint. 

This  is  also  a  species  of  the  same  with  last  two,  and,  like 
the  others,  forms  a  large  constituent  of  the  barren  and 
mountain  grasses.  When  dry  it  is  the  sport  of  the  winds. 

The  importance  of  these  great  natural  pastures  has  never 
hitherto  been  appreciated  in  Tennessee,  but  it  has  been  the 
constant  effort  of  this  bureau  to  call  the  attention  of  stock- 
raisers,  and  especially  sheep  husbandmen,  to  the  importance 
of  these  highway  pastures  for  the  economical  rearing  of 
sheep. 

QUAKING    GRASS.--(  J?ma  Media  and  Maxima.) 

Glumes  roundish,  unequal,  of  a  purplish 
color ;  spikelets  many-flowered,  heart- 
shaped;  lower  pale  roundish,  entire,  upper 
pale  smaller,  egg-shaped,  flat;  leaves  flat; 
stamens  three. — Flint* 

As  seen  in  the  name,  there  are 
two  sizes  of  this  grass,  one  larger 
than  the  other.  It  grows  wild  in 
the  mountanious  parts  of  the  State, 
but  is  chiefly  seen  in  gardens, 
where  it  is  cultivated  for  its  beau- 
ty, making,  with  its  heart-shaped 
spikelets,a  fine  addition  to  bouquets, 
for  winter  vases.  The  slight- 
est movement  causes  it  to  shake, 
making  a  noise  like  the  rattles  of 
a  rattlesnake.  TheBriza  Media  IB 
perennial,  but  the  Briza  Maxima 
is  an  annual.  Cattle  eat  it  with 
relish,  but  it  is  a  poor  pasture 
grass,  and  is  only  suited  to  very 
sterile  soils.  Mr.  Sinclair  ascer- 


184  THE    GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

tained  that  an  acre  of  the  Briza  media  cut  in  flower,  weighed 
9,528  pounds,  which  lost,  in  drying,  6,431  pounds.  The 
amount  of  nutritive  matter  was  only  409  pounds.  Cut 
when  the  seeds  were  ripe,  the  produce  weighed  9,528  pounds 
and  furnished  483  pounds  of  nutritive  matter.  The  after- 
math weighed  8,167  pounds,  with  only  255  pounds  of  nutri- 
tive matter.  A  thin,  sandy  soil  gave  10,890  pounds,  with 
453  pounds  of  nutritive  matter.  A  moist,  clayey  soil  gave 
8,167  pounds  and  of  nutritive  matter  293  pounds.  A  rich, 
black,  loamy  soil  furnished  9,689  pounds,  and  462  pounds 
of  nutritive  matter.  Sandy  soils,  as  is  shown  by  these  ex- 
periments, are  better  suited  to  it  than  rich  clayey  or  cal- 
careous soils.  It  would  suit  the  soils  of  the  Cumberland 
Table-land,  and  many  parts  of  West  Tennessee.  The  seeds 
weigh  from  ten  to  twelve  pounds  per  bushel.  Analysis 
shows  the  dried  grass  to  contain,  of  flesh-formers,  5.2;  heat 
producers,  42.8;  fat,  2.6.  It  rank  among  the  poorest  of  the 
grasses,  but  is  hardy  and  better  than  none  at  all. 

SMALL '  FESCUE.--(*esfc«ja  tenella.) 

The  small  fescue  has  a  spike-like  panicle,  somewhat  one-sided,  from 
seven  to  nine  flowered;  awn  awl-shaped,  palea  slender;  leaves  bristle- 
formed;  stem  slender,  six  to  twelve  inches  high;  leaves  slender ;  flowers 
harsh,  often  purplish,  panicle  nearly  erect;  has  a  grayish  green  color. — 
Flint. 

Flourishes  on  dry  thin  soils.     Not  of  much  value. 

SHEEP'S  FESCUE .--(Festuca  ovina.) 

Has  a  narrow  panicle,  short,  tufted,  bristle-shaped  leaves,  of  a  grayish 
green  color,  somewhat  tinged  with  red;  spikelets  two  to  six  flowered; 
awn  often  nearly  wanting.  Perennial. — Flint. 

The  Fescue  grasses  are  very  popular  in  New  England 
and  grow  well  in  Tennessee,  having  been  introduced  in  some 
localities.  They  are  perrennial  and  grow  in  tufts,  and  from 
their  profuse  foliage  they  form  excellent  pasturage  for  cattle 
and  especially  for  sheep,  hence  the  name  of  one  variety. 
Mixed  with  other  grasses  the  Sheep's  Fescue  would  be  a  good 
addition  to  our  native  grasses.  It  would  be  especially  use- 


SHEEP'S  FESCUE. 


185 


ful  on  dry  hillsides,  or  sandy,  old  fields,  where  blue  grass 
will  not  thrive  well.  It  has  long  leaves,  and  they  are 
much  sought  for  by  cattle.  It  has  been  grown  extensively 
in  East  Tennessee,  and  is  grown  in  some 
localities  in  Davidson  county,  without 
much  success.  The  Hon.  Staunton  Gould 
says  this  grass  forms  the  great  bulk  of  the 
sheep  pastures  of  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land, where  it  is  the  favorite  food  of  the 
sheep,  and  where  the  shepherds  believe  it 
to  be  more  nutritious  for  flocks  than  any 
other.  Gmelin  says  the  Tartars  choose  to 
encamp  during  the  summer  where  this 
grass  is  most  abundant,  because  they  be- 
lieve it  to  be  the  most  wholesome  for  all 
cattle,  but  especially  for  sheep.  Linnaeus 
asserts  that  sheep  have  no  relish  for  hills 
and  heaths  without  it.  It  grows  in  dry 
sandy  soils  where  all  other  vegetation 
parches  up.  The  roots  are  long,  turf  short 
and  dense,  making  it  well  suited  for  lawns. 
It  retains  its  verdure  during  the  most  ex- 
tended droughts.  It  will  not  bear  ma- 
nuring, for  then  it  is  dispossessed  by  other 
grasses.  Its  great  value  is  for  pasturage 
upon  sandy  soils.  It  will  suit  the  Cumberland  Table -land. 
The  Woburn  experiments  showed  that,  cut  at  the  time  of 
flowering,  the  product  of  one  acre  was  5,445  pounds,  which 
gave  212  pounds  of  nutritive  matter.  The  same  number  of 
pounds  was  obtained,  cut  when  the  seeds  were  ripe,  but 
there  were  only  127  pounds  of  nutritive  matter.  The  after- 
math yielded  3,403  pounds  of  hay,  having  66  pounds  of 
nutritive  matter.  From  this  it  appears  that  there  is  a  dif- 
ference between  the  results  obtained  by  chemists  and  prac- 
tical feeders  as  to  its  nutritive  properties. 


186  THE    GRASSES    OF   TENNESSEE. 

MEADOW  FESCUE-RANDALL  GRASS-EVERGREEN 

GRASS.— (Festuca  pratensis.) 

Its  panicle  is  nearly  erect,  branched  close,  inclined  to  one  side; 
spikelets  linear;  from  five  to  ten  cylindrical  flowers;  leaves  linear,  of  a 
glassy  green,  pointed,  striated,  rough  on  the  edges;  stem  round,  smooth, 
from  two  to  six  feet  high;  roots  creeping.  Perennial, — flint. 

This  grass  has  received  some  attention  in  different  parts 
of  the  State,  and  has  met  with  a  warm  reception  from  those 
testing  it.  It  ripens  its  seed  long  before  any  other  grass, 
and,  consequently,  affords  a  very  early 
nip  to  cattle.  It  has  been  raised  under 
various  names,  in  Virginia,  as  "Randall 
Grass,"  in  North  Carolina  as  "Evergreen 
Grass."  In  the  mountain  lands  of  Vir- 
ginia, a  writer  says  :  "The  variety  of  for- 
age best  adapted  to  sheep-grazing  on  the 
mountain  lands  is  the  "Randall,"  a  tall, 
coarse  grass,  growing  freely  on  the  rocky 
soil  to  a  hight  of  six  feet,  remaining  green 
and  affording  fine  herbage  all  the  win- 
ter." 

Mr.  James  Taylor,  writing  to  the  Ag- 
ricultural Bureau  from  North  Carolina, 
says  : 

"  The  Evergreen  Grass  is  very  good  for 
pasturing  through  the  fall  and  winter.  I 
have  no  knowledge  of  its  origin.  It  will 
do  best  when  sown  on  dry  land,  and  is 
well  adapted  to  sheep.  It  grows  well  on 
rocky  soil,  to  the  hight  of  four  or  five 
feet  when  ripe,  continuing  green  in  the 
spring,  and  affording  fine  herbage  through- 
out the  winter.  It  is  best  to  sow  in  the  spring  with  oats. 
A  peck  of  well-cleaned  seed  is  enough  for  an  acre,  or  a 
bushel  in  the  chaff.  It  ripens  about  the  first  of  June,  or  a 
little  before  rye  harvest,  and  is  cut  with  scythe  and  cradle 
as  we  cut  rye  If  sown  in  the  spring  this  grass  will  not 


MEADOW  FESCUE.  187 

go  to  seed  before  the  next  year,  but  if  sown  in  the  fall  it 
will  bring  seed  the  next  spring.  I  do  not  know  its  yield  of 
hay  to  the  acre,  but  believe  it  to  be  equal  to  any  other  grass 
we  have." 

From  the  limited  cultivation  it  has  met  with  in  Ten- 
nessee, it  seems  rather  to  be  better  adapted  to  moist,  low 
lands,  though  I  have  seen  it  growing  on  some  of  the  high 
ridges  of  East  Tennessee,  at  least  1,500  feet  above  the  sea. 
There  it  thrives  luxuriantly,  and  makes  a  very  superior 
pasture. 

Some  of  this  grass  was  sown  in  Davidson  county  as  early 
as  1850,  upon  the  farm  now  owned  by  Col.  D.  H.  Mc- 
Gavock.  The  place  selected  for  sowing  was  low,  wet  and 
almost  marshy.  The  same  spot  is  yet  green  with  it, 
still  flourishing  in  unrivaled  luxuriance,  furnishing 
more  grazing,  according  to  Col.  McGavock,  than  any  other 
grass.  The  roots  penetrate  much  deeper  than  the  roots  of 
blue  grass,  descending,  indeed,  as  deep  as  red  clover.^  In 
consequence  of  this  it  bears  droughts  remarkably  well. 
Nor  do  overflows  affect  it,  but  rather  seem  to  add  to  its 
vigorous  vitality. 

A  small  plat  of  upland  was  also  sown,  but  it  disappeared 
in  about  five  years,  but  its  disappearance  .  was  hastened 
by  the  presence  of  the  army  worm. 

The  same  rules  are  to  be  observed  in  propagating  it  as  in 
blue  grass. 

In  Europe  this  grass  is  one  of  the  standard  meadow 
grasses,  and  might  be  found  by  further  experiment  to  form 
a  fine  addition  to  the  list  here.  Its  name  of  Evergreen 
originated  from  its  habit  of  remaining  green  under  the 
snow  and  when  it  was  clear  of  it,  affording  fine  croppings 
for  cattle.  It  will  grow  on  a  greater  elevation  than  the 
blue  grass. 

The  seeds  weigh  about  fourteeen  pounds  to  the  bushel. 
An  analysis  by  Messrs.  Scheven  and  Ritthausen  found  it  to 
contain,  when  green,  water,  74.8;  flesh-formers,  2.4;  fat, 


188  THE   GEASBES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

0.8;  heat-formers,  10.2.  The  Woburn  experiments  gave 
at  the  rate  of  13,612  pounds  to  the  acre,  cut  when  flowering, 
which  lost  7,046  in  drying,  and  furnished  957  pounds  of 
nutritive  extract.  It  is  a  good  hay  grass. 

TALL   FESCUE  GRASS.-- (Festuca  elatior.) 

This  is  a  variety  of  the  same,  naturalized  from 
Europe,  and  suited  to  a  rich  loam,  such  as  is  found 
in  the  Central  Basin.  The  Woburn  experiments 
show  it  to  yield  more  nutritious  matter  per  acre,  when 
cut  in  flower,  than  any  other  grass,  cut  either  in  flower 
or  seed.  The  number  of  pounds  obtained  was  51,046,  which 
weighed,  when  dry,  17,866  pounds,  loss  in  drying,  33,180 
pounds  and  furnished  3,988  pounds  of  nutritive  extract. 

There  are  several  other  fescue  grasses,  as  the  Spiked 
Fescue,  (F.  loleacea),  Hard  Fescue,  (F.  duriuscula),  and  the 
Nodding  Fescue,  (F.  utans),  all  indigenous  to  this  country. 
The  last  two  are  good  hay  grasses,  as  well  as  the  Meadow 
Fescue.  The  Hard  Fescue  was  analyzed  by  Way  and  found 
to  contain  water,  69.33;  flesh-formers,  3.70;  fat,  1.02;  heat- 
producers,  12.46;  woody  fibre,  11.83;  ash,  1.66.  The  Wo- 
burn experiments  gave  as  the  produce  of  one  acre,  18,376 
pounds,  cut  in  flower;  loss  in  drying,  10,116  pounds;  nutri- 
tive matter,  1,004  pounds.  Cut  in  seed,  the  produce 
weighed  19,075  pounds,  loss  in  drying,  10,481  pounds,  leav- 
ing nutritive  extract,  446  pounds.  It  grows  well  on  a 
sandy  loam.  The  seeds  weigh  ten  pounds  to  the  bushel. 

COMMON  HEED   GHASQ,~(Phragmites  communis.} 

Glumes  shorter  than  the  flowers,  keeled,  sharp-pointed,  and  very  un- 
equal; rachis  silky-bearded;  palea  slender,  the  lower  thrice  the  length  of 
the  upper;  stiles  long,  grain  free.— flint. 

It  grows  in  swamps  and  on  the  borders  of  ponds.  It  is 
found  in  the  Mississippi  bottoms  from  six  to  twelve  feet  high, 
and  serves  as  a  fringe  to  nearly  all  the  swamps  of  that 
that  river.  At  a  distance  it  very  much  resembles  sugar 


COMMON  REED  GRASS.  189 

cane.  Its  large  seeds  serve  as  food  for  the  swarms  of  wild 
ducks  and  geese  of  that  region.  When  young  and  tender 
cattle  browse  on  its  succulent  foliage,  but  when  it  gets 
large  it  becomes  lough  and  woody.  In  England  it  is  used 
in  thatching  houses  and  farm  buildings.  A  roof  made  of 
this  is  said  to  be  better  than  a  slate  roof,  because  it  keeps 
the  cold  out  in  winter  and  heat  in  summer.  Such  a  roof, 
it  is  said,  will  last  eighty  years  if  care  is  taken  to 
keep  the  moss  cleared  away.  It  is  universally  diffused, 
both  in  the  Eastern  and  Western  Hemispheres. 


190  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CANE — COUCH  GRASS — VELVET — LAWN  GRASS  OR  MEADOW 
GRASS — BARLEY — TALL  MEADOW  OAT  GRASS — WOOD 
HAIR  GRASS. 

CANE — (Arundinaria  macrosperma.} 

Glumes  concave,  awnless,  small,  lower  smaller  than  the  upper;  scales 
three,  longer  than  the  ovary;  stamens  three,  stems  woody.  Flowers  in 
March  and  April,  leaves  linear,  green  on  both  sides,  smooth,  spikelets 
from  seven  to  ten  flowered,  purple,  smooth. 

When  the  first  settlers  came  to  Tennessee,  the  whole  face 
of  the  country  was  covered  with  Cane,  .and  while  it  existed, 
afforded  abundant  pasturage  to  stock  of  all  kinds,  both 
winter  and  summer.  The  shoots  of  young  cane  are  both 
succulent  and  nutritious.  Not  only  are  they  eaten  by  beasts, 
but,  when  young  and  tender,  they  are  boiled  and  eaten  by 
man.  In  1812  and  again  in  1864  a  famine  was  averted  in 
India  by  the  opportune  seeding  of  the  Cane,  the  people 
gathering  the  seeds  and  boiling  and  eating  them  like  rice. 

The  Cane  requires  about  thirty  years  to  mature  and  form 
the  seed,  then  the  plant  dies,  and  it  again  springs  up  from 
the  roots.  It  is  propagated  by  suckers  from  the  roots,  and 
it  is  several  years  before  it  is  strong  enough  to  serve  the 
purpose  of  fishing-poles.  Its  stem  lias  a  coating  of  almost 
pure  silex,  and  was  used  by  the  Aborigines  for  knives,  cups, 
fans,  pipe-stems,  fishing-poles,  spear-handles,  fishing-spears, 
chairs,  tables,  bedding,  wigwams,  etc.,  etc..  Like  all  other 
grasses,  it  grows  from  the  centre,  and  though  it  has  gra- 
minaceous affinities  in  all  its  internal  structure,  it  partakes  of 
the  nature  of  a  tree  in  size,  as  it  often  attains  a  height  of 
of  forty,  and  even  of  fifty  feet. 

It  belongs  to  the  same  family  with  the  bamboo  of  the 


CANE.  191 

Asiatic  and  African  jungles.  There,  it  is  applied  to  more 
purposes  than  any  other  species  of  vegetation,  and  is  regu- 
larly cultivated.  It  is  there  planted  in  spring  or  autumn, 
and  is  considered  ready  for  cutting  at  the  end  of  four  or  five 
years.  Some  of  the  most  delicious  sweetmeats  we  have,  are 
made  from  the  young  and  tender  shoots  of  the  Cane 
by  the  Chinese.  The  family  of  Cane  comprises  twenty  gen- 
era and  one  hundred  and  seventy  species.  The  switch 
cane  is  the  seedling,  and  as  the  roots  becomes  older,  they 
thow  up  from  year  to  year  larger  stems,  provided  it  is  not 
too  much  trodden,  in  which  case,  it  dwarfs  and  remains 
switch  cane,  until  it  flowers,  seeds  and  dies. 

It  varies  in  diameter  from  J  of  an  inch,  to  three  inches, 
and  in  Asia  eight  inches.  The  distance  between  nodes  is 
from  four  to  eight  inches,  and  in  some  highly  prized  Chinese 
varieties,  it  is  from  four  to  five  feet.  In  Asia  it  is  used 
for  an  endless  variety  of  purposes,  for  making  houses,  boats, 
masts,  furniture,  water-pipes,  floats  for  children  to  learn 
swimming,  life-preservers,  and  by  softening  the  sections  in 
boiling  water  and  flattening  them  out,  they  are  used  for 
planks,  boards,  umbrellas,  and  in  fact,  for  almost  every  do- 
mestic purpose. 

The  only  uses  to  which  it  is  applied  here,  are  for  pipe- 
stems,  fishing-poles,  and  for  making  baskets.  It  forms 
most  excellent  winter  pasturage,  besides  sheltering  stock 
from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  Several  large  farmers 
in  Middle  Tennessee  still  have  their  pastures  of  Cane.  Al- 
most any  portion  of  Middle  Tennessee,  if  enclosed  and  un- 
used, will  soon  send  up  small  Cane,  and  if  unmolested  until 
it  attains  some  size,  it  will  stand  very  constant  grazing.  In 
the  bottoms  of  West  Tennessee,  in  some  of  the  valleys  of 
East  Tennessee  and  on  some  isolated  spots  in  Middle  Ten- 
nessee, it  yet  exists  in  pristine  beauty.  But  it  is  fast  dis- 
appearing, with  wild  game,  before  the  encroachments  of  the 
plow.  One  of  the  grandest  and  most  sublime  sights  to  be 
seen,  is  the  burning  of  a  cane-brake.  Sounds  as  if  a  terrific 


192  THE   GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

battle  raged  are  heard  and  a  blaze  goes  up  that  effectually 
destroys  all  vegetation  within  its  fiery  circle. 

It  grows  best  on  the  richest  land,  but  if  the  poorest  soil 
is  once  set  with  it,  it  acts  as  a  fertilizer.  This  is  to  be  at- 
tributed to  its  wonderful  net-work  of  roots,  the  immense 
foliage  it  deposits  on  the  soil,  and  to  its  dense  shade.  It  is 
a  very  difficult  matter  to  break  up  cane  land,  but  once  broken, 
it  quickly  rots  and  adds  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  roots 
run  to  a  surprising  length  and  depth,  and  serve  as  pumps  to 
raise  dormant  fertilizing  principles  from  below  the  reach  of 
any  plow. 

The  farmers  living  near  the  Mississippi  bottoms  find  the 
immense  cane-brakes  in  that  region  exceedingly  beneficial, 
as  they  are  in.the  habit  of  driving  their  stock  to  them,  and  the 
most  luxuriant  pasturage  is  obtained,  both  summer  and  win- 
ter. It  will  not  grow  in  standing  water,  as  the  presence  of 
water  destroys  its  roots.  Therefore,  it  is  only  found  on  parts 
of  ground  elevated  above  the  swamps. 

Botanists  reckon  another  species  called  Arundinacea  tecta, 
small  cane,  which  is  believed  by  many  close  observers  to  be 
the  switch  cane  spoken  of.  The  A.  tecta  has  a  peculiar  mode 
of  inflorescence.  From  the  creeping  root  are  thrown  up 
simple  leafless  culms  from  six  to  twelve  inches  high  with  a 
few  spikelets  in  a  simple  raceme.  These  spring  up  in  April, 
and  are  highly  relished  by  every  kind  of  stock. 

COUCH  GRASS,  Twitch  Grass,  Chandler  Grass,  Dog  Grass, 
Witch  Grass,  Quack  Grass,  Quake  Grass,  Squitch  and 
Wheat  Grass— (Triticum  repens.) 

Has  creeping  roots;  stem  erect,  round,  smooth,  about  two  feet  high 
striated,  having  five  or  six  flat  leaves,  with  smooth,  striated  sheaths;  tin.- 
joints  are  smooth,  the  two  uppermost  very  remote,  leaves  duik  green, 
acute,  upper  one  broader  than  the  lower  ones,  roughish,  sometime? 
hairy  on  the  inner  surface;  smooth  on  the  lower  half.  Inflorescence  in 
spikes.  Flowers  in  June  and  July. — Flint. 

This  grass,  though  more  a  troublesome  weed  than  an  agri- 
cultural acquisition,  was  brought  from  Europe  by  some  one, 


COUCH   GKASS. 


193 


under  the  supposition  it  was  a  good  grazing  grass.  It  creeps 
with  its  vigorous  roots  rapidly,  and  though  having  an  abund- 
ance of  foliage,  it  is  too  coarse  and  rough  for  fodder.  Each 
joint  will  produce  a  new  plant,  which,  in  turn,  sends  out  in 
every  direction  new  scraggy  roots,  that  reproduce  other 
plants.  When  young  and  tender  it  is  eaten  by  stock,  and  it 

is  a  favorite  grass  with  dogs,  who 
eat  it  to  excite  vomiting.  It  is 
apt  to  take  possession  of  wheat 
lands,  and  is  exceedingly  trouble- 
some to  get  clear  of,  a  single  root 
in  the  ground  serving  as  a  nucleus 
for  a  plantatation  of  them.  The 
only  way  to  get  rid  of  this  trouble- 
some pest,  is  to  gather,  dig  and 
burn ;  or,  if  while  the  land  is  dry 
and  the  weather  hot,  it  is  plowed 
frequently,  it  may  bo  killed.  But 
to  interfere  with  it  during  wet 
weather,  by  either  digging  or 
plowing,  is  only  to  assist  in  its 
propagation.  Its  principal  growth 
takes  place  in  autumn,  when  its 
roots  spread  horizontally  and 
obliquely  in  every  direction,  and 
continue  to  grow  rapidly  until 
arrested  by  cold  weather. 

The  roots  are  succulent,  and 
are  industriously  hunted  for  by 
hogs,  who  eat  them  with  avidity. 
In  some  of  the  poverty-stricken 
countries  of  Northern  Europe,  the 
roots  are  dug,  dried  and  ground 
into  meal,  which  is  made  into  bread  by  the  poorer  classes, 
who  are  thus  enabled  to  sell  their  wheat  to  the  rich    They  are 
also  fed,  in  some  locality,  to  cattle  and  horses.     It  belongs  to 
13 


194  THE   GRASSES    OF   TENNESSEE. 

the  family  of  wheat,  and  it  has  been  argued  by  some,  that 
it  hybrid rizes  with  wheat,  and  by  others,  that  it  is  the  pa- 
rent of  wheat.  From  the  large  amount  of  salts  in  its  com- 
position, land  that  has  been  infested  with  it,  produces  won- 
derfully large  turnips.  It  is  said,  however,  to  impoverish 
land,  as  to  other  crops.  It  exists  principally  in  the  North- 
ern States,  but  has  acquired  a  foot-hold  in  some  sections, 
being  brought  in  with  seed  wheat,  the  seeds  resembling 
wheat  exactly,  except  they  are  smaller.  The  heads  are  also 
very  much  like  the  wheat  heads. 

VELVET  LAWN  GBASS-MEADOW  SOFT  OBASS— (JHW- 

cus  lanafus.) 

Spikeleta  two  flowered,  jointed  with  the  pedicels;  glumes  boat  shaped, 
membranaceous,  enclosing,  and  exceeding  the  flowers;  lower  flower 
perfect;  its  lower  palea  awnless  and  pointless;  upper  flower  staminate 
only,  bearing  a  stout  bent  awn  below  the  apex.  Stamens  three,  grain 
free,  slightly  grooved  It  grows  from  one  to  two  feet  high;  stem  erect, 
round;  root  fibrous,  perennial;  leaves  four  or  five,  with  soft,  downy 
sheaths;  upper  sheath  much  longer  than  its  leaf,  inflated,  llgule  obtuse; 
joints  usually  four,  generally  covered  with  soft,  downy  hairs,  the  points 
of  which  are  turned  downwards;  leaves  pale  greeen,  flat,  broad,  acute, 
soft  on  both  sides,  covered  with  delicate  hairs.  Inflorescence  compound, 
panicled,  of  a  greenish,  reddish  or  pinkish  tinge;  hairy  glumes,  oblong, 
tipped  with  a  minute  bristle.  Florets  of  two  palets.  Flowers  in  June. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  grasses  we  have,  and 
grows  wild  on  swampy  moist  lands.  It  abouncfcs  on  the 
marshy  flats  of  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  but  it  is  not  of 
such  tempting  relish  that  stock  will  not  eat  it  ravenously. 
It  grows  well  in  West  Tennessee. 

As  a  grass  for  lawns,  however,  or  yards,  unless  it  is  de- 
sired to  use  them  as  pastures,  it  is  unequalled,  and  is  easily 
propagated.  It  needs  but  to  be  sown  slightly,  and  after- 
wards will  quickly  sow  itself.  A  yard  turfed  over  with 
this  grass  presents  a  most  lovely  appearance,  and  looks  as 
if  spread  with  a  velvet  carpet. 

But,  Mr.  Gregory,  of  North  Carolina,  says:  "It  was 
on  my  place  35  or  40  years  ago  when  first  bought,  and  is 


VELVET  LAWN  GEAS8 — MEADOW  SOFT  GRASS. 


195 


found  in  several  other  places  in  this  county  (Oxford).  It 
would  seem  from  this  it  is  indigenous  to  our  clay  lands.  I 
gathered  the  seed  on  my  land,  and  have  now  some  two  acres 
sown,  and  have  just  cut  (June  29th,)  the  prettiest  lot  of 
hay  1  ever  saw.  Orchard  grass  in  the  same  field  will  not 
compare  with  it." 

Several  analysis  of  this  grass  have  been  made,  which  are 
given  below : 


g 

g 

>•»  • 

1 

*! 

Sf§ 

1 

•88 

<D    £5 

w-g 

11 

1 

Analyzed  by 

S 

£ 

69.70 

3.49 

1.02 

11.92 

11.94 

1.93 

Way. 

75.1 

2.8 

0.5 

9.5 

10.2 

2.4 

Scheven  &  Ritthausen. 

The  hay,  as  analyzed  by  Wolff  and  Knop,  shows  water, 
14.3;  flesh  formers,  9.9;  fat,  3.1;  heat  producers,  36.7;  fibre, 
33.6;  and,  ash,  5.5. 

From  the  experiments  of  Sinclair,  at  the  Woburn  farm, 
we  learn  that  the  produce  from  an  acre  cut  in  flower,  was 
19,057  pounds;  loss  in  drying,  12,395  pounds,  retaining 
nutritive  elements,  1,191  pounds.  The  grass  weighed  the 
same  cut  when  in  seed,  and  lost  15,246  pounds  in  drying, 
and  yielded  818  pounds  of  nutritive  matter.  The  after- 
math yielded  6,806  pounds  of  grass  and  373  pounds  of 
nutritive  matter. 

The  chief  merits  of  this  grass  are  its  soft  beauty,  its  pro- 
ductiveness, and  its  tenacity  of  life.  When  once  well  set; 
it  bids  defiance  to  all  other  species.  Enriching  the  soil  is 
the  only  way  to  get  rid  of  it.  It  grows  well  upon  thin 
sandy  places,  and  will  therefore  suit  the  sandstone  soil  of 
the  Cumberland  Mountains.  The  seeds  weigh  about  seven 
pounds  to  the  bushel,  and  as  many  as  eighty  bushels  have 
been  grown  to  the  acre. 


196  THE   GRASSES   OF     TENNESSEE. 

BARLEY  GRASS--(Hbrdettm  pussHlum.) 

Spikelets  one  flowered,  with  an  awl-shaped  rudiment  on  the  inner 
side,  three  at  each  joint  of  the  rachis,  the  lateral  ones  usually  abortive 
or  imperfect,  short  stalked;  glumes  side  by  side  in  front  of  the  spike- 
lets,  slender  and  bristle-form;  lower  pale  convex,  long  awned;  stamens, 
three;  grain  long,  adhering  to  the  pales. — Flint. 

Barley  Grass  is  found  usually  in  brackish  marshes,  and 
grows  from  6  to  12  inches  high.  It  looks  very  much  like 
barley,  and  is  much  relished  by  cattle,  and  when  full  of 
seeds,  it  is  very  nourishing.  It  could  be  sown  on  places 
that  would  scarcely  produce  anything  else,  as  in  swampy 
localities.  It  is  not  of  much  value  in  an  agricultural  point 
of  view,  though  stock  will  eat  it. 
TALL  MEADOW  OAT  GRASS— (Arrkenatherum  avenaeeum.) 

Spikelets  two  flowered,  and  the  rudi- 
ments of  a  third,  open ;  lowest  flower 
staminate  or  sterile,  with  a  long  bent 
awn  below  the  middle  of  the  back; 
leaves  flat,  acute  roughish  on  both 
sides,  most  on  the  inner ;  panicle 
leaning  slightly  to  one  side;  glumes; 
very  unequal ;  stems  from  two  to 
three  feet  high;  root  perennial,  fi- 
brous, sometimes  bulbous.  It  has  two 
florets,  the  lower  one  having  a  long  awn 
rising  from  a  little  above  the  base  of  the 
outer  palea,  and  this  peculiarity  distin- 
guishes it  from  all  other  grasses  It 
Flowers  from  May  to  July. — flint. 

This  grass  is  very  popular  in 
France,  from  whence  it  was  in- 
troduced, and  is  there  known  by 
the  name  of  "Ray  Grass." 

It  will  grow  well  on  any  land 
that  produces  clover.  Its  limit  is 
about  1,500  feet  above  the  sea. 
It  grows  quickly  and  forms  a 
very  excel  lent  grass  for  early  pas- 
turage, probably  earlier  than  any 
other.  It  is  mown  down  for  hay, 


WOOD   HAIR  GRASS.  197 

and,  after  cutting,  it  throws  up  a  perfect  mat  of  aftermath, 
that  will  yield  an  extremely  rich  pasture.  It  was  only  in- 
troduced into  Tennessee  a  few  years  ago,  and  it  has  received 
extravagant  praises,  as  is  usual  with  new  introductions. 

It  succeeds  well  in  West  Tennessee,  and  will  proba- 
bly suit  that  locality  better  than  any  other  grass,  except 
Herds  grass.  It  would  form  a  good  grass  to  mix  with 
others,  such  as  timothy,  Herds  grass,  closer  or  blue  grass. 

The  analysis  of  the  hay  by  Way,  is  as  follows :  Flesh 
formers,  12.95;  fatty  matters,  3.19;  heat-producing  princi- 
ples, 38.03;  woody  fibre,  ^4.24;  mineral  matters,  11.59. 

Other  analyses  may  be  found  on 
pages  30  and  36. 

This  shows  it  to  rank  as  a  nu- 
tritious grass,  among  the  best 
of  the  meadow  grasses,  and  al- 
most equal  to  any  of  the  pas- 
ture grasses,  though,  it  is  said 
cattle  and  sheep  do  not  like 
to  be  confined  to  it  alone.  The 
produce  from  an  acre  from 
Mr.  Sinclair's  experiments  at 
Woburn,  was  17,015  pounds;  loss 
in  drying,  11,635  pounds;  nutri- 
tive matter,  664  pounds.  Cut 
when  the  seeds  were  ripe  the 
weight  was  16,335  pounds;  loss  in 
drying,  10,617  pounds;  nutritive 
matter  255  pounds.  Weight  of  af- 
termath, 13,612  pounds;  nutritive 
matter  of  which  was  265  pounds. 

WOOD  HAIR  GRASS-Uim  flex- 
uosa.) 

Stems    slender,    one    or    two    feet 
high,      nearly      naked;      leaves     dark 
green,    often  curved,    bristle-formed;  branches  of    the  panicle   hairy, 


198  THE    GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 

•preading,  mostly  in  pairs;  lower  palea  slightly  toothed;  awn  starting 
near  the  base  bent  in  the  middle,  longer  than  the  glumes,  which 
are  purplish.  Perennial.  Flower-  in  June. — Flint. 

This  grass  grows  on  all  the  rocky  hills,  and  extends  to  the 
tops  of  ordinary  mountains,  flourishing  in  sandy  soils.  It  is 
readily  eaten  by  cattle  and  sheep.  It  is  often  transplanted 
to  gardens  for  ornament,  its  delicate  stem  and  spreading 
panicle,  making  a  charming  addition  to  bouquets.  On  soils 
suited  to  it,  it  yields  more  forage  than  sheep  fescue.  The 
Woburn  experiments  show  at  the  time  of  flowering  the  pro- 
duct of  the  grass  was  10,209  pounds  per  acre,  which  lost 
6,891  pounds  in  drying,  and  yielded  319  pounds  of  nutri- 
tive matter.  Cut  when  the  seeds  were  ripe,  the  grass  weighed 
9,528  pounds;  loss  in  drying,  5,955  pounds;  nutritive  mat- 
ter, 297  pounds.  It  will  not  thrive  on  a  clayey  soil. 


COMMON  CRAB — SWEET-SCENTED  VERNAL.     199 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

COMMON  CRAB  GRASS — PROLIFIC  PANIC  GRASS — SWEET- 
SCENTED  VERNAL  GRASS  —  PAMPAS  GRASS  —  RAMIE — 
RIBBON  GRASS  —  CANARY  GRASS  —  FIORIN  —  WHITE 
CLOVER — JAPAN  CLOVER- — HERDS  GRASS — ORCHARD 
GRASS. 

COMMON   CRAB   GRASS.--(Pawcwm  Sanguinale.) 

The  history  and  uses  of  this  native  grass  have  been  fully 
given  with  the  Meadow  grasses,  on  page  101,  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred. 

PROLIFIC  PANIC    GRASS.-(Pamcwm  proliferum.) 

Another  species  of  above,  differing  only  in  having  the  culms 
thickened,  succulent,  branched  and  bent,  ascending  from  a  procumbent 
base,  and  spikelets  appressed,  lance — oval,  of  a  pale  green  color. — Flint. 

It  inhabits,  as  a  general  thing,  river  bottoms,  though 
sometimes  appearing  on  dry  hills.  In  its  value  as  a  graz- 
ing grass  it  is  almost  identical  with  the  preceding.  Cattle 
are  fond  of  it,  and  it  grows  spontaneously. 

SWEET-SCENTED    VERNAL    G'RASS.-lAnthoxanthum  od»- 
ratum.} 

Spikelets  spreading,  three  flowered;  lateral  flowers  neutral,  with  one 
palea,  hairy  on  the  outside,  and  awned  on  the  back;  glumes  thin  acute, 
keeled,  the  upper  twice  as  long  as  the  lower;  seed  ovate,  adhering  to 
the  palea  enclosing  it;  root  perennial.  Flowers  in  May  and  June. 
Stems  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  feet  high  — Flint. 

This  grass  was  introduced  from  Europe,  and  possesses 
rather  poor  qualities  as  a  pasture  grass,  as  neither  sheep  nor 
cattle  relish  it.  It  is  early,  however,  and  hardy.  It  is  one 
of  the  first  as  wel^  as  one  of  the  last  grasses  that  appear. 
Its  nutritive  qualities  are  said  to  exist  to  a  much  larger 
extent  in  the  fall  than  in  the  spring,  and  greater  when  cut 


200  THE   GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 

at  maturity  than  in  bloom.  It  has  a  mixture  of  benzoic 
acid  among  its  constituents,  which  imparts  to  it  a  highly 
aromatic  character,  and  this  is  so  strong  that  other  grasses 
with  which  it  may  be  mixed  are  affected  by  it.  It  is  not  in 
general  use  in  Tennessee,  but  would  pro- 
bably add  to  the  value  of  pastures  if  sown 
with  other  grasses.  Cows  running  on  it 
are,  by  some,  said  to  give  a  rich  milk 
and  highly  flavored  butter,  but  Mr. 
Gould  thinks  this  is  an  error.  It  may  be 
known  by  rubbing  its  green  leaves  in 
the  fingers,  to  which  it  yields  its  scent. 
On  certain  soils  favorable  to  its  growth, 
it  will  root  out  almost  every  other  kind 
and  take  complete  possession.  Its  seeds 
have  a  spiral  awn,  and  svhen  taken  in 
the  hand,  affected  by  its  moisture,  the 
awns  will  uncoil,  and  the  seeds  will  ap- 
pear to  move  as  insects.  There  are  six  or 
seven  pounds  in  a  bushel,  and  nine  hun- 
dred and  twenty- three  thousand  two 
hundred  in  a  pound.  Its  analysis,  ac- 
cording to  Way,  ranks  it,  when  dry,  a 
Iktle  higher  than  blue  grass,  as  follows  ; 
Flesh-formers,  10.43;  fatty  matters,  3.41, 
and  heat-producing  principles,  43.48.  Blue  grass  gives, 
flesh-formers,  10.35;  fat,  2.63;  heat  producers,  43.06. 

The  same  chemist  gives  the  following  as  its  composition 
when  green:  Water,  80.35;  flesh-formers,  2.05;  fat,  0.67; 
heat-producers,  8.54;  woody  fibre,  7.15;  ash,  1.24.  Scheven 
and  Ritthausen's  analysis,  grass  green,  gives  the  following 
result:  Water,  72;  flesh -formers,  2.1;  fat,  0.8,  heat-pro- 
ducers, 11.2;  woody  fibre,  12.3;  ash,  1.6.  Still  another 
analysis  may  be  found  on  page  36. 

Sinclair  showed  that  when  grown  upon  a  sandy  loam 
well  manured,  the  produce  of  an  acre,  cut  in  flowering  time, 


SWEET-SCENTED  VERNAL  GRASS. — PAMPAS  GRASS.       201 

was  7,827  pounds,  which  lost  5,723  pounds  in  drying,  and 
yielded  only  122  pounds  of  nutritive  matter.  But  when 
the  seeds  were  ripe  the  produce  per  acre  was  6,125  pounds, 
which  lost,  in  drying,  4,287  pounds,  and  yielded  311  pounds 
of  nutritive  matter.  The  produce  of  the  aftermath  was 
6,806  pounds  per  acre,  which  yielded,  of.  nutritive  matter, 
239  pounds.  The  experiments  of  Sinclair  and  the  analysis 
given  by  Way  show  very  different  results.  The  reader 
should  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  these  analyses  and  ex- 
periments are  not  conclusive,  and  they  should  be  repeated 
many  times  to  command  implicit  confidence.  *  The  best 
test  of  all  grasses  is  their  effects  upon  animals.  If  animals 
thrive  and  fatten  upon  any  grass,  and  that  grass  is  peren- 
nial, hardy  and  durable,  it  is  a  good  pasture  grass;  other- 
wise not,  whatever  individual  experiments  in  the  laboratory 
may  indicate.  We  know  that  stock  of  all  kinds  eat  blue  grass 
voraciously  and  thrive  upon  it;  we  know,  also,  that  they  do 
not  like  the  anthoxanthum.  Both  are  alike  hardy  and 
durable.  Therefore  the  blue  grass,  upon  suitable  soils,  is  to 
be  preferred,  whatever  chemical  research  may  determine. 


PAMPAS  GRASS.--(Cfynerwm  argenteum.) 

Tall,  reed-like  grass,  with  large  tuft  of  rigid  linear  and  tapering,  re- 
curved, spreading  leaves,  several  feet  iu  length ;  the  flowering  stem  6 
to  12  feet  high,  flowers  in  antumn,  silky,  downy,  silvery  panicle. — Gray. 

This  is  the  grass  of  the  historic  plains  or  pampas  of  South 
America,  and  is  only  cultivated  for  ornament  here.  Its 
beautiful,  feathery  panicles  make  a  fine  ornament  for  vases. 
It  must  be  protected  to  survive  our  winters,  by  brush  or 
straw  thrown  over  its  roots.  It  is  not  included  in  the  list 
of  grasses  given  on  page  70,  and  is  really  to  us  only 
a  curiosity,  and  not  of  any  value  in  a  commercial  point  of 
view. 


202  THE    GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 

RAMIE   GRASS,   CLOTH  PLANT.-(5ceAweria  nivea.) 

Flowers  dioecious,  tir  intermixed,  clustered  in  spikes;  tough,  fibrous 
bark,  the  fertile  flowers  with  a  tubular  or  urn-shaped  calyx,  barely 
toothed  at  the  apex,  inclosing  the  ovary,  and  closely  investing  the 
oblong  flat  akene;  leaves  ovate,  white,  downy  beneath;  three  to  four 
feet  high. 

This,  though  called  the  China  cloth  plant,  really  is  not  a 
grass  or  allied  to  the  grasses,  but  belongs  to  the  Nettle 
genus  and  is  akin  to  the  Hemp. 

It  has  been  lately  introduced  and  cultivated  for  its  fibre, 
of  which  goods,  cloth,  and  paper  are  made. 

It  has  only  been  known  within  a  few  years  to  possess 
nutritive  qualities,  but  from  the  appended  letter  from  Col. 
Sam'l.  D.  Morgan,  of  Nashville,  it  will  be  seen  it  has  no 
mean  virtues  as  a  forage  plant.  The  yield  per  acre  is  said  to 
be  enormous,  as  much  as  1,200  pounds  of  the  dried  bark  hav- 
ing been  taken  from  one  acre.  It  has  never,  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  writer,  been  raised  in  Tennessee,  nor  is  it  certain 
that  it  would  grow  in  this  climate,  it  being  a  native  of  India, 
but  it  can  be  easily  tested,  and  if  its  virtues  here  are  equal 
to  the  test  given  by  Col.  Morgan,  it  would  be  a  most  ex- 
cellent green  soiling  crop,  and  would  take  a  stand  by  the 
side  of  corn  fodder  or  clover.  It  is  not  included  in  the  list 
of  Tennessee  grasses  given  elsewhere. 

NASHVILLE,  Nov.  23,  1877. 
J.  B.  Killebrew,  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  etc. 

DEAR  SIB: — I  have  a  letter  from  Commissioner  W.  G.  LeDuc,  asking 
to  be  informed  by  me  of  the  result  of  experiments  made  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  "Ramie,  or  China  grass  plant." 

Some  ten  or  more  years  since  I  obtained  a  package  of  the  seed,  but 
having  no  conve^  ience  for  growing  the  plant,  I  sent  them  to  my  son-in- 
law,  Dr.  J  A.  Duncan,  of  Barnwell  Court  House,  South  Carolina,  who 
planted  them  in  his  garden,  where  they  grew  and  flourished  vigorously. 
Some  two  or  three  years  later  his  wife  prepared  a  small  quantity  of  the 
fibre  and  sent  it  to  me  to  be  exhibited  at  our  State  Fair,  which  I  did, 
and  where  it  was  greatly  admired  for  its  perfect  lustre  and  exceeding 
great  strength,  and  though  there  was  no  premium  for  such  fibre  offered 
by  the  society,  she  was  awarded  a  handsome  one  for  her  exhibit.  In  a 


RAMIE   GRASS.  203 

word,  I  consider  it  a  plant  well  adapted  to  the  climate  of  South  Caro- 
lina, if  not  further  North, 

But  whether  it  be  desirable  to  cultivate  it  for  its  fibre  or  not,  it 
proved  in  Dr,  Duncan's  hands  an  admirable  forage  plant,  "none  like 
it,"  as  he  says.  He  informed  me  that  "his  cow  and  horses  devoured  it 
with  great  gusto,"  passing  through  good  pastures  to  get  to  his  garden, 
even  breaking  down  his  fences  to  get  at  it.  He  further  informs  me 
that  it  is  quite  succulent,  and  wonderfully  nutritious,  not  or/ly  fatten 
ing,  but  giving  to  the  hair  of  the  animals  using  it  a  very  smooth  and 
iatin-like  appearance. 

This  is  certainly  a  plant  worthy  of  exertions  being  made  to  introduce 
into  the  South. 

Respectfully.  S.  D.  MORGAN. 

It  is  a  plant  very  susceptible  of  cultivation  by  both  seeds 
and  suckers.  Its  growth  is  rapid,  vieing  with  tropical 
weeds  in  luxuriance.  It  thrives  best  in  a  moist  climate, 
but  is  not  very  particular  as  to  soils.  In  Jamaica  it  grew 
six  and  a  half  feet  in  fourteen  days,  according  to  the  au- 
thority of  Mr.  Simmonds,  of  the  "Technologist."  It  was 
brought  into  Calcutta  from  Bencoolen  in  1803,  and  there 
cultivated  in  the  Botanic  Gardens  for  some  years  until  he 
disseminated  it.  The  seeds  are  sown  on  a  light  sandy  soil, 
it  being  thoroughly  pulverised  first,  and  not  covered  at 
all  except  by  the  soil  with  x  which  they  are  mixed  be- 
fore sowing.  The  beds  must  be  watered  until  ger- 
mination takes  place.  When  the  plants  are  four  inches 
high,  they  must  be  transplanted  into  rows  three  feet  wide  and 
six  inches  apart.  The  soil  may  be  any  rich,  stiff  kind  of 
land.  This  plan  is  for  getting  a  start  when  the  seeds  are 
scarce.  The  roots  will  soon  throw  up  numerous  suckers 
that  may  be  drawn  and  set  like  sweet  potato  slips.  How- 
ever, after  the  seeds  are  secured  by  the  farmer,  he  can  sow 
in  rows  very  lightly,  and  chop  across  with  a  hoe  to  give 
the  plants  room  to  spread. 

The  proper  time  to  sow  is  as  early  as  the  land  can  be 
prepared.  It  will  be  ready  to  cut  in  June,  and,  if  desired, 
can  be  again  and  again  cut  until  frost  begins.  In  the  last 
cutting  the  soil  should  be  thrown  over  the  stubble  to  pro- 


204 


THE    GRASSES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


tect  the  roots  during  winter,  and  no  more  planting  will  be 
necessary  for  several  years,  as  the  roots  are  perennial. 
They  are  fleshy  tubers  and  will  be  quickly  eaten  up  by  hogs 
if  they  are  allowed  to  get  to  them.  The  plant  is  a  very 
promising  one  for  green  soiling,  and  a  citizen  of  a  village  or 
town  having  a  small  lot  may  be  able  to  supply  a  horse  or 
cow  with  green  forage  through  the  whole  summer.  It  has 
never  before  been  recommended  as  a  forage  plant,  and 
should  anyone  interested  in  this  account  wish  to  test  it, 
seed  doubtless  can  be  procured  from 
the  Agricultural  Bureau  at  Washington, 
D.  C. 

RIBBON    GR  ASS.--(PWara  arundinacea.) 

Panicle  very  slightly  clustered,  somewhat  spread- 
ing when  old;  glumes  wingless,  rudimentary  florets, 
hairy;  stem  round,  smooth,  erect,  from  two  to 
seven  feet  high;  leaves  five  or  six  in  number,  broad, 
lightish  green,  acute,  harsh,  flat-ribbed,  central 
rib  most  prominent  on  highlands,  with  white  stripe 
down  centre,  solid  green  on  wet  lands,  roughish 
on  both  surfaces,  edges  minutely  toothed;  smooth, 
striated  sheaths. 

This  grass  is  exceedingly  hardy  and 
showy,  but  is  of  but  little  value  as  a  hay 
or  pasture  grass.  It  is  raised  in  almost 
every  garden,  on  account  of  its  beautiful 
foliage.  It  is  called  also  Fortune  grass. 
Hon.  John  Stanton  Gould  says  of  this 
grass : 

"  Its  roots  interlace  very  closely,  and 
after  a  few  years  swamps  are  so  com- 
plely  covered  with  them  as  to  bear  a 
wagon  and  horses  without  breaking 
through.  It  is  also  very  useful  in  pro- 
tecting river  banks,  but  in  narrow  brooks 
it  is  apt  to  fill  up  the  channel  and  thus 


RIBBON    GRASS.  205 

convert  a  large  area  into  swamps.     Its  flowers  vary  greatly 
in  their  hue  according  to  position.     Their  general  color  is 
whitish   or   pale  green,  but  they  are  met  with  when  they 
exhibit  rich  shades  of  purple  and  yellow,  and  with  red  in- 
stead of  yellow  anthers.     The  rudimentary  flowers  on  either 
side  of  the  fertile  palese  are  not  invariably  to  be  met  with. 
We  have  seen  flowers  that  have  had  only  one  of  these,  and 
sometimes  neither  is  present.     Its  seeds  weigh  from  forty- 
eight  to  fifty  pounds  to  the  bushel,  and  the  birds  are  very 
fond  of  them.     Haifa  bushel  to  the  acre  is  quite  enough  to 
sow  under  any  circumstances,  but    it    is    most   commonly 
propagated  from  cuttings  of  the  root,  one  piece  being  de- 
posited to  every  square  foot,  in  the  early  spring,  in  ground 
that    has   been   well    prepared    and    pulverized    by   frost. 
Linnseus  says  that    it    is    extensively    used  for  fodder  in 
Sweden  and  is  liked  by  the   cattle.      In  the  province  of 
Scania  it  is  mown  twice  a  year.     The  peasantry  there  use  it 
as  a  thatch  for  their  cottages   and   hay   stacks,  and  find   it 
more  durable  than  straw,     It  is  very  certain  that  cattle  in 
our  own  country  do  not  relish  it,  either  as  pasture  or  hay, 
and  they  will  not  touch  it  so  long  as  they  can  get  anything 
better.     It  might,  however,  be  utilized  even  here  by  the 
proprietors  of  marsh  lands.     When  cut  very  young,  say 
when  about  one  foot  high,  and  used  for  soiling,  cattle  eat  it 
better  than  in  any  other  way.       When  it  becomes  older  it 
is  very  rigid  and  becomes  distasteful,  and  should  never  be 
used  as  fodder.     The  creeping  roots  are  probably  nutritious; 
they  have  a  sweetish  flavor,  and  pigs  will  devour  them  with 
avidity.     Its  composition,  as  stated  by  Messrs.  Scheven  and 
Ritthausen,  is:  Water,  68.9;  protein,  1.9;  fiat,  0.4;  heat-pro- 
ducing principles,  12.6:  woody  fibre,  13.5;  ashes,  2.6.     Ac- 
cording to  the  Woburn  experiments,  a  black  sandy  loam  in- 
cumbent on  clay  at  the  time  of  flowering  yielded  from  an 
acre  27,225  pounds  of  grass,  which  lost  14,973  pounds  in 
drying,  and   afforded    1,701    pounds   of  nutritive  matter. 
From  a   strong,  tenacious   clay   the    produce  was  34,031 


206  THE   GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 

pounds  of  grass,  which  lost  17,015  in  drying,  and  afforded 
2,126  pounds  of  nutritive  matter.  If  these  experiments  arc 
trustworthy,  it  seems  that  a  clay  soil  produces  4,764 
pounds  more  of  dry  hay  to  the  acre  than  a  black  sandy 
loam,  and  that  100  pounds  of  grass  from  it  affords  6.3 
pounds  more  of  nutritive  matter.  If  it  is  chemically  true 
that  this  grass  yields  so  much  more  nutriment  than  timothy, 
redtop,  fescue  and  other  favorite  grasses,  it  is  equally  true 
that  the  stomachs  of  cattle  are  not  so  organized  that  they 
can  extract  it,  and  that  it  will  not  lay  on  anything  like  as 
much  flesh  nor  give  as  liberal  a  flow  of  milk." 

CANARY    GnASS.~(Phalaris  canarwnsis.) 

Spifc  elete  from  five-sixteenths  to  six-sixteenths  of  an  inch  long,  oval, 
compressed  closely,  imbricated  and  beautifully  variegated  with  green 
and  white,  as  shown  in  the  illustration,  where  the  dark  part  represents 
the  green  shades.  Glumes  flattened,  ovate,  unequally  distributed 
about  the  central  rib,  about  twice  as  long  as  the  palea,  clothed 
with  short  appressed  hairs,  nerves  with  greenish  margins.  Ru- 
dimentary flowers  half  the  length  of  the  perfect  one,  smooth 
below,  slightly  hairy  at  the  apex.  Palese  of  the  perfect  flower 
ovate  lanceolate,  hairy ;  the  lower  one  obscurely  five  nerved. 
Panicle  spike-like,  with  very  short  branches  about  one-seventh 
of  the  length  of  the  spikelets,  oval,  compact.  Culm  eight 
to  eighteen  inches  high,  bearing  three  or  four  leaves. 
Sheaths  inflated,  somewhat  roughish.  Ligule  acute,  the  upper 
one  pointed.  Leaves  from  one-fourth  to  three-eighths  wide, 
one  to  three  inches  long,  pale  green,  glaucous.  Seed  ovate,  in- 
vested with  the  hardened  palea.  Flowers  in  July. — Gould. 

Canary  grass  is  a  native  of  the  Canary  Islands,  and 
may  often  be  seen  in  waste  places.  It  has  flowers 
very  similar  to  the  preceding,  and  belongs  to  the 
same  species.  Cattle  devour  it  when  young,  but 
being  an  annual,  and  not  a  very  luxuriant  grower,  it 
is  not  of  much  value  as  a  forage  crop.  It  yields  from 
thirty  to  forty  bushels  of  seeds  per  acre,  which  are  ex- 
tensively used  in  feeding  canary  birds. 


FIORIN — WHITE   CLOVER.  207 

PIORIN,    BENT   Q"RA&8.~-(Agros&  alba.) 

Stem  hollow  or  soon  becoming  so,  spikelets  in  panicles,  sometimes 

crowded,  but  never  so  as  to  form 
a  spike,  flowers  one  and  perfect  in 
each  spikelet,  with  or  without  ru- 
diments of  oth'ers,  stamens  three, 
rarely  fewer,  stems  with  procum- 
bent or  creeping  base,  ligule  long 
and  conspicuous,  panicle  more 
dense,  greenish  or  slightly  purplish. 
Perennial. 

Florin  is  quite  popular  in 
England  as  a  meadow  grass, 
and  is  known  as  'Bent  grass7 
or  White  Bent.  It  belongs 
to  the  same  family  as  the 
herds  grass,  and  is  very  like 
it.  It  is  nourishing,  and 
makes  a  good  grass  for  pas- 
tures. In  Tennessee  it  can- 
not hold  rank  with  many 
others  as  a  meadow  grass,  but 
it  is  of  sufficient  value  to  de- 
serve mention. 


WHITE  CLOVEB.-(!ZH/b/mmrepens.) 

Its  stems  are  spreading,  slender,  creeping;  leaves  inversely  heart- 
shaped;  flower  heads  small,  white;  pods  four-seeded,. roots  perennial; 
flowers  from  May  to  September. 

White  Clover  has  been  lauded  to  the  skies  by  some,  and 
by  others  depreciated  as  a  vile  weed.  It  is  beyond  question 
next  to  blue  grass,  one  of  our  most  valuable  grazing  plants. 
Its  analysis  shows  it  to  be  equal  to  red  clover  in  most  re- 
spects, and  superior  as  a  fat  producing  plant 


208 


THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 


It  is  to  the  pasture  what  red  clover  is  to  the  meadow, 
and  is  a  suitable  food  not  only  for  cattle  and  horses,  but 
for  hogs.  They  thrive  amazingly  on  it.  After  the  first 
flowering  it  salivates  horses,  but  it 
has  no  such  effect  on  cattle  or  sheep, 
As  a  honey-producing  flower,  the 
White  Clover  is  not  surpassed  by  any 
plant,  the  florets,  some  years,  being 
almost  full  of  syrup. 

It  varies  very  much  in  different 
years,  sometimes  almost  disappearing, 
then  again,  another  year,  being  thick 
in  every  pasture.  So  much  is  this  the 
case,  that  we  have  what  are  called 
a White  Clover  years."  This  is  due  to  the  presence  or  ab- 
sence of  rain.  When  there  is  a  wet  spring  White  Clover 
appears  in  great  luxuriance  everywhere,  and  in  dry  weather 
it  only  shows  itself  in  abundance  on  moist  lands. 

It  is  indigenous  to  both  Europe  and  the  United  States, 
and,  though  growing  everywhere  here,  it  has  to  be  sown  on 
the  Northern  pastures.  Here  it  comes  spontaneously,  almost 
taking  every  other  grass,  and  sometimes  destroying  other 
grasses.  It  is  an  invaluable  accompaniment  of  blue  grass, 
especially  triumphant  where  the  blue  grass  is  pastured  too 
heavily. 

The  comparative  value  of  White  and  red  clover,  cut  in 
bloom,  may  be  seen  by  the  following  analyses  by  Prof. 
Way: 


S 

2 

^g 

| 

tl  | 

| 

4> 
a 

'oS 

«j 

i 

R| 

0 

51 

| 

4 

Red  Clover  

81.01 

4.27 

.69 

8.45 

3.76 

1.82 

White  Clover.,. 

79.71 

3.80 

.89 

8.14    |     6.38 

2.08 

Other  analyses  may  be  found  on  pages  34,  and  37. 


JAPAN    CLOVER   OR   KING   GRASS  209 

JAPAN  CLOVER  OB  KING  GRASS-- (J^spedeea  striata.) 

Leaves  pinnately  three  folio  late;  stipules  small  and  free  or  falling 
early.  Flowers  purple  rose  color  or  white;  stamens  diadelphous;  an- 
thers uniform;  pod  flat  and  thin,  ovate  or  arbicular,  reticulated. 

It  has  been  but  a  few  years  since  this  plant  has  been 
brought  to  notice  in  this  country,  though  its  existence  was 
mentioned  as  early  as  1784  by  Thunberg,  a  German  chemist, 
who  saw  it  growing  in  Japan.  About  the  year  1849  it  was 
noticed  in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  the  seeds  having 
been  brought  probably  from  Japan  or  China  in  tea  boxes. 
A  short  while  afterwards  it  was  discovered  at  a  distance  of 
forty  miles  from  Charleston,  and  still  later  near  Macon,  Ga. 

Within  the  last  six  years  it  has  developed  itself  in  many 
of  the  counties  of  this  State,  especially  in  Henderson  and 
Warren,  where  it  is  covering  all  old  fields,  and  in  many 
instances  rooting  out  broom  grass  and  other  grasses,  show- 
ing itself  well  worthy  of  the  name  given  it  by  Mr.  Pendle- 
ton,  of  King  Grass. 

It  seems  especially  adapted  to  the  Southern  States,  not 
nourishing  above  36°,  growing  with  great  luxuriance  on  the 
poorest  soils  and  retaining  vitality  in  its  roots  in  the  sever- 
est droughts.  It  is  said  to  be  a  fine  plant  for  grazing,  and 
being  perennial  in  warm  climates,  needs  no  re-sowing  and 
but  little  attention.  On  soils  unfit  for  anything  else  it 
furnishes  good  pasture  and  supplies  a  heavy  green  crop  for 
turning  under  and  improving  the  land.  It  cannot  stand 
severe  cold,  and  in  high  latitudes  cannot  be  depended  on  as 
a  good  pasture  grass,  although  it  comes  up  and  supplies  an 
abundant  forage  lor  a  few  months.  It  should  be  sown  in 
January  or  February  in  the  Southern  States,  and  about  one 
bushel  of  seed  to  ten  acres  is  required  to  secure  a  good  stand 
the  first  year.  It  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  renovater  of  old 
fields,  and  to  bring  them  up  to  a  high  degree  of  fertility  in 
an  incredibly  short  space  of  time. 

Mr.  E.  M.  Pendleton,  of  Georgia,  speaking  of  it,  says  : 

"I  am  willing  to  concede  to  it  several  things  that  do  not 
14 


210  THE    GRASSES    OF   TENNESSEE. 

apply  to  any  other  plant  we  have  ever  grown  in  this  lati- 
tude. 

1.  It  grows  on  poor  land  with  more  luxuriance  than  any 
ether  grass  or  weed  I  have  ever  seen ;  and  as  it  has  a  small 
leaf,  rather  contravenes  the  general  idea  of  vegetable  physi- 
ologists, that  large  leaved  plants  feed  mostly  on  the  atmos- 
phere.    I  suppose,  however,  that  this  deficiency  is  counter- 
acted to  a  large  extent  by  the  number  of  leaves,  for  they 
are  legion. 

2.  It  has  great  powers  of  endurance,  so  far  as  the  roots 
are  concerned ;  but  the  brandies  and  leaves  will  parch  and 
die  out  under  a  burning  sun  very -soon,  especially  where  it 
grows  sparsely.     During  a  wet  summer  it  luxuriates  where- 
ever  propagated  on  poor  hill-sides  as  well  as  meadow  lands. 
It  loves,  however,  rainy  seasons  on  thirsty  lands,  and  I  fear 
will  not  prove  to  be  all  we  desire  in  such   localities.     It, 
however,  reminds  us  of  an  anecdote  of  Mr.  Dickson,  when 
he  was  showing  some  gentlemen  his  farm  during  the  pre- 
valence of  a  severe  drought.     As  they  passed  through   a 
corn  field  in  which  some  of  the  stalks  were  actually  dying 
for  lack  of  moisture,  one  of  them   called   his  attention  to 
several  in  that  condition.     "Yes,"  said  he,  "I  perceive  the 
fact — but  it  •  dies  game."     And    so   of  the  Japan  Clover,  it 
dies  from  severe  drought,  but  rallies  again  as  soon  as  the 
rain  sets  in. 

3.  It  is  good  pasturage  for  stock,  and  I  think  would  make 
good  hay,  if  cut  and  cured.     This  I  intend  to  test  the  pres- 
ent season.     But  I  do  not  believe  that  our  stock  like  it  as 
well  as  the  native  grasses,  and  I  doubt  whether  it  is  as  nu- 
tritious as  the  Bermuda.     As  cattle  love  variety,  however, 
this  may  subserve  a  good  purpose  in  that  way.     My  opinion, 
however,  is,  from  not  a  very  close  observation  in  the  matter, 
that  they  would  soon  tire  out  on  it  exclusively. 

4.  It  furnishes  a  large  supply  of  vegetable  matter  to  the 
soil,  and  I  believe  will  prove  to  be  the  best  humus  making 
plant  we  have  at  the  South,  where  so  much  is  needed  from 


JAPAN  CLOVER  OR  KING  GRASS         211 

our  clean  cotton  culture.  As  it  is  said  to  be  difficult  to 
gather  the  seed  in  large  quantities,  I  intend  to  plow  up  the 
surface  where  it  has  seeded,  and  rake  up  the  grass  and  top 
soil,  and  sow  this  dirt  over  ray  oat  and  wheat  fields,  and 
especially  on  the  poor  places.  My  opinion  is  that  a  most 
luxuriant  growth  of  this  clover  will  follow,  which  can  be 
turned  under  in  the  fall  while  green,  and  thus  furnish  not 
only  humus  but  nitrogen  to  the  soil. 

5.  Another  rare  quality  of  this  plant  is  indicated  in  the 
name  I  have  given  it — King  Grass — in  the  fact  that  it  abso- 
lutely roots  out  and  destroys  every  living  plant  in  its  wide- 
spread path.  Not  even  old  Bermuda,  which  has  so  long 
held  undisputed  sway  over  his  circumscribed  fields,  can 
resist  its  encroaches.  I  have  a  bottom  long  since  given  up 
to  the  Bermuda.  Recently  I  passed  through  it  and  found 
that  the  Lespedeza  had  almost  completely  throttled  it,  though 
like  Mr.  Dickson's  corn,  it  died  game,  as  here  and  there, 
peering  above  its  enemy,  could  be  seen  an  isolated  sprig  of 
Bermuda,  which,  as  it  cannot  stand  shade,  will  have  to  yield 
entirely  before  the  close  of  another  season.  I  have  but 
little  doubt  that  any  pest  like  Coco  or  Bermuda  could  be 
rooted  out  by  this  King  Grass  in  a  few  years  in  any  locality^ 
and  would  recommend  it  to  be  sown  on  such  fields  if  for  no 
other  purpose.  I  intend  to  give  it  a  fair  trial  myself  on  one 
or  two  similar  localities." 

In  like  manner  the  Hon.  H.  W.  Ravenel,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, regards  it  with  great  favor,  and  thinks  its  timely  ap- 
pearance will  be  ultimately  a  source  of  great  wealth  to  the 
people  of  the  Southern  States.  Many  places  that  were  re- 
garded as  worthless  before  its  appearance,  are  now  made 
profitable  as  a  pasture,  with  the  aid  of  this  grass. 

Mr.  Samuel  McRamsey,  of  Warren  county,  says  this 
clover  made  its  appearance  in  that  locality  in  1870.  It  is 
fast  covering  the  whole  country.  It  supplies  much  grazing 
from  the  first  of  August  until  frost.  It  is  short,  but  very 
hardy.  Sheep  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  cattle  will  eat  it.  It 


212  THE    GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 

is  killing  out  the  broomsedge  wherever  it  appears.  It  grows 
exceedingly  well  on  red  clay,  and  with  a  little  care  covers 
red  hillsides  that  are  much  too  common  all  over  the  State. 
If  it  will  do  this  and  destroy  the  broom  grass,  it  should  be 
cultivated.  It  is  not  good  for  meadow  and  is  only  valuable 
for  pasture. 

The  Hon.  M.  T.  Polk  considers  it  almost  worthless  for 
grazing,  having  made  many  experiments  with  it.  His 
opinion  is  entitled  to  great  weight. 

HERDS  GRASS  AND  ORCHARD  GRASS. 

These  grasses  have  been  treated  at  length  under  the  head 
of  Meadow  Grasses.  Both  are  favorite  pasture  grasses,  in- 
deed, preferred  for  the  pasture  to  the  meadow.  In  my  ex- 
perience and  observation  I  knew  of  no  grass  which  will 
give  more  general  satisfaction  upon  every  soil  as  a  pasture 
grass,  than  Herds  Grass.  It  is  nutritious,  hardy,  tenacious 
of  life,  a  luxuriant  grower  upon  wet  or  dry  soils,  and  is 
highly  relished  by  stock.  In  low  places  where  water  is 
likely  to  stand  after  heavy  rains,  it  will  flourish  and  retain 
its  vitality.  Many  swampy  places  can  be  made  profitable 
by  being  sown  in  this  grass,  as  its  interlacing  roots  consoli- 
date the  ground,  making  a  tight  surface  over  which  cattle 
can  feed  without  miring.  It*  has  never  been  valued  at  its 
actual  worth. 

Orchard  Grass  is  not  so  hardy  as  Herds  Grass,  though 
probably  it  is  more  nutritious,  or  at  least,  more  palatable  to 
stock.  I  have  observed  on  two  pastures,  side  by  side,  the 
one  sown  with  Orchard  Grass  and  the  other  with  Herds 
Grass,  that  stock  will  prefer  the  Orchard  Grass  to  the  Herds 
Grass.  This  may  be  owing  to  the  fact,  that  Orchard  Grass 
has  a  more  rapid  growth,  and  is  therefore  tenderer  and  more 
succulent.  Both  are  good,  but  the  Herds  Grass  will  stand 
more  tramping  and  grazing  than  the  Orchard  Grass,  and 
will  thicken  into  a  sward  while  the  Orchard  Grass  will  be- 
come thinner  year  after  year.  The  first  season  after  sowing? 


HERDS   GRASS   AND    ORCHARD   GRASS.  213 

Orchard  Grass  will  make  the  better  pasture,  but  every  suc- 
ceeding year  will  show  the  Herds  Grass  to  advantage. 

This  closes  the  list  of  valuable  pasture  grasses  for  this 
State.  Others  now  regarded  as  of  no  importance,  may 
prove  valuable  by  culture.  One  fact  is  certain,  we  have  more 
useful  grasses  than  we  cultivate.  Any  three  or  four  of  the 
best  varieties  sown  and  properly  cared  for  will  prove  a  boon 
to  the  farmers  of  the  State. 


214  NATIVE    FORAGE   PLANTS 


NATIVE  FORAGE  PLANTS  IN  TENNESSEE 


IV. 


CONTRIBUTED     BY    DR.     A.     GATTINGER,    NASHVILLE,     TENNESSEE. 


The  object  of  this  contribution  is  to  impart  some  specific  knowledge 
about  those  plants  which  constitute  the  natural  food  supply  of  the 
grazing  animals.  I  had  never  expected  that  my  casual  and  accidental 
observations  in  this  particular  direction  would  ever  come  into  pub- 
licity, and,  besides  the  request  for  this  met  me  unprepared.  Yet  I  have 
considered  it  my  duty  to  accept  Mr.  Killebrew's  friendly  and  polite  re- 
quest, as  an  opportunity  to  conduce  some  to  the  public  welfare  and  to 
general  information. 

During  a  thirty  years'  residence  in  this  State,  for  many  of  them 
with  the  ample  opportunities  of  a  country  physician,  I  have  devoted  the 
time  unoccupied  by  professional  duties,  to  the  study  and  collection  of  the 
flora  of  this  State,  which  I  have  traversed  on  botanical  explorations 
from  the  summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  sandy  banks  of  the  mighty 
Mississippi. 

The  grasses  and  leguminous  plants  enumerated  I  know,  from 
their  aspect  in  nature,  their  mode  of  growth,  time  of  inflorescence,  the 


IN   TENNESSEE.  215 

soil  to  which  they  are  addicted,  and  their  uses  where  such  are  known. 
They  are,  furthermore,  in  my  private  collection,  and  I  intend  to  con- 
tinue my  labors.  The  description  of  the  plants  are  given  according  to 
the  excellent  works  of  Prof.  A.  Gray,  A.  W.  Chapman's  Flora  of  the 
Southern  United  States,  Torrey's  Botany  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  wood -cuts  illustrative  of  a  few  genera  of  grasses  are  from  Gray'e 
Manual.  Some  information  I  have  also  derived  from  the  Agricultural 
Reports 

Two  families  of  plants,  the  Graminese  (grasses  and  cereals)  and 
Legurninosse  (wild  vines,  peas,  etc.),  contribute  in  such  a  degree  to  the 
support  of  the  herbivores,  that  all  the  rest  is,  for  this  purpose,  almost 
insignificant.  What  plants  are  suitable  or  not  can  only  be  learned 
from  observing  stock  in  pastures,  what  they  eat  or  reject,  when  they 
are  in  a  well-fed  condition. 

From  a  list  of  grasses  given  in  a  former  chapter  I  have  selected  the 
most  frequent  and  valuable  for  the  subjoined  special  descriptions. 

In  that  portion  of  the  United  States  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi  and 
extending  to  the  Atlantic,  there  are  at  present  known  to  exist  287 
species  of  the  graminese  indigenous  to  the  soil.  In  the  territory  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  extending  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  there  are  143 
species,  of  which  only  52  species  belong  to  this  region  exclusively, 
ninety-one  of  them  belonging  also  to  the  eastern  region.  So  it  appears 
that  we  have  339  species  over  this  wide  domain.  About  one-half  of 
these  are  found  within  the  limit  of  the  State  of  Tennessee. 
Many  of  them  are  valuable  for  forage,  but  many  are  worthless 
or  noxious  to  the  agriculturalist. 


216  NATIVE    FORAGE   PLANTS 


CHAPTER    XVIIL 

ANDROPOGON — TRIPSACUM  —  SETARIA  —  PANICUM  —  PA8- 
PALUM  —  GYMNOSTICHUM  —  ELYMUS  —  AIRA  —  DAN- 
THONIA — TRITICUM. 

ANDROPOGON,   L.--  ( Andropogon.) 
ANDROPOGON    SCOPARIUS,  L. 

Commonly  called  broomsedge,  a  great  eye-sore  if  it  takes 
possession  of  meadows,  but  a  good  pasture  grass  before  it 
shoots  up  its  culms,  after  which  time  stock  will  touch  it  no 
more.  It  disfigures,  with  its  straw-bundle-like  tussocks,  the 
pleasant  verdure  of  a  spring  landscape,  and  the  half  decayed 
stalks,  if  mixed  with  new  hay,  incline  to  make  it  mouldy. 
Another  such  compatriot  is 

ANDROPOGON  PURCATUS,  Muhl.--(Alao  called  Broom  Grass) 

Taller  and  stouter  than  the  former,  the  culm  terminated 
with  2-4  digitate  flower  spikes,  in  the  manner  of  crab 
grass.  It  is  not  so  much  at  home  in  open  meadows  and 
old  fields  but  prefers  open  woods,  fence  corners  and  out-of- 
the-way  nooks.  A  third  associate  is  the 

ANDROPOGON  VIRGINICUS,  L.- 

Closely  resembles  the  first,  but  the  flower  spikes  are  near- 
ly wholly  wrapt  up  in  leaf-like  grass  blades  or  sheaths,  and 
the  spikelets  are  very  much  silky  bearded.  It  is  found  in 
all  sorts  of  localities,  dry  and  wet,  but  rather  dispersed  over 
widely  distant  localities,  and  consequently  not  so  common 
as  the  first  two. 


IN    TENNESSEE.  217 

ANDROPOGON  MACROURUS,  mchx.~(Cluster-flowered  Beard 
Grass. ) 

This  has  stems  two  or  three  feet  high,  branched,  with  many  spikes, 
bushy,  forming  thick  clusters;  rough,  hairy  sheaths. 

It  differs  from  the  preceding  species  of  same  genus  in  growing  in 
swampy  lands  Like  the  others,  it  is  worthless. 

ANDROPOGON   ARGENTEUS,  ^.--(Silver  Broom  Grass). 

Spikelets  in  pairs,  on  peduncles  exceeding  the  sheaths,  dense  and  silky. 
Flowers  in  September. 

Not  frequent.  East  Tennessee  along  the  mountains.  It 
is  useless  to  the  agriculturist. 

Another  interesting  species  of  the  division  of  the  Andro- 
pogoneae  is  the  Sorghum  nutans,  Gray,  a  tall  and  elegant 
grass,  3-6  feet  high,  with  a  narrowly  oblong  panicle  at 
length  drooping,  of  russet  brown  and  shining  color.  It 
grows  either  single  or  but  few  culms  from  one  root  and 
passes  under  the  name  of  Wood  Grass  or  Indian  Grass, 
und  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  objects  in  open  barrens 
and  waste  places  during  the  late  fall  season.  The  farmers 
in  the  Western  countries,  in  default  of  meadows  cut  this 
and  A.  Scoparius  and  Furcatus  before  heavy  frost,  and  store 
it  as  hay. 

Two  other  species  related  to  the  above  are  found  in  the 
State,  viz :  Erianthus  alopecuroides  and  Erianthus  strictus, 
both  growing  on  siliceous  soil,  (Tullahoma,  White-bluff,  etc. 
etc).  The  first  deserves  to  be  cultivated  as  a  garden  orna- 
ment for  its  large  and  plume-like  spike  which  is  exceeding- 
ly graceful. 

TRIPSACUM  DACTYLOIDES,  L.--(Z%e  Gama  Grass}.  Perennial 

This  species  is  frequently  overlooked  for  it  resembles 
greatly  a  depauperate  form  of  Indian  corn  from  the  outline 
of  the  flowerspike  and  the  broad  leaves,  which  look  exactly 
like  those  of  corn.  But  the  tassel  which  is  only  male  in  corn, 
bears  here  both  female  aiid  male  flowers,  and  the  lateral 
spike  of  the  corn  is  absent.  Where  it  is  abundant  and  better 
supplies  not  on  hand,  it  is  cut  and  dried  for  fodder. 


2i8  NATIVE   FORAEE   PLANTS 

SETARIA  VERTICILLATA,  Beauv.--(J5m%  Foxtail.) 

Spikelets  awnless,  with  short  peduncles,  cylindrical  spikes  two  or 
three  inches  Ions:,  pale  green,  somewhat  interrupted  with  whorted,  short 
clusters,  bristles  single  or  in  pairs,  roughened,  or  barbed  downwards, 
short. 

This  is  one  of  the  foxtail  grasses,  some  of  which  are  very 
good  grazing  when  young.  They  are  found  on  all  old 
fields,  about  yards — in  fact  wherever  man  is  there  are  the 
foxtails.  They  are  all  annuals  and  take  good  care  to  sow 
themselves. 

SETARIA  GLAUCA,  Beauv-(-B/we  Foxtail). 

Stem  from  one  to  two  feet  high,  leaves  broad  and  hairy  at  the  base, 
sheaths  smooth  ligule  bearded,  spike  two  or  three  inches  long  dense, 
cylindrical,  bristles  six  to  eleven  in  a  cluster,  rough  upwards;  perfect 
flower  transversely  wrinkled. 

Flowers  in  July  and  inhabits  the  territory  appropriated 
everywhere  by  the  foxtail  family,  that  is  cultivated  lands. 

SETARIA  VIRIDIS,  Beauv.-( Green  Foxtail}. 

Has  a  cylindrical  compouned  green  spike,  bristles  longer  than  the 
spikelets,  few  in  cluster,  perfect  flower  stirate  lengthwise  and  dotted. 
Annual,  and  flowers  hi  June. 

PANICUM,  L. 

Is  a  genus  rich  in  indigenous  species.  The  Subdivis- 
ion Setaria  is  well  known  through  the  German  and  Italian 
Millet,  Panicum  Italicum,  etc.  P.  sanguinale  is  a  common 
grass,  abounding  in  cornfields  at  the  end  of  summer,  fur- 
nishes the  principal  picking  to  stock  after  corn-gathering, 
but  its  value  at  that  time  is  but  small,  the  saccharine  matter 
being  then  converted  into  cellulose,  and  the  seeds  drop- 
ping out  as  they  ripen,  the  spike  is  mostly  empty. 

PANICUM  GLABRUM,  Gaudin. 

Abounds  in  orchards  and  pastures,  and  resembles  the 
former  very  much,  but  the  whole  plant  is  glabrous,  while 
the  former  is  mostly  very  hairy. 


IN    TENNESSEE.  219 

PANICUM   PAUCIFLORUM,    Elliot.— Sparsely- flowered  Panic 
Grass. 

Stems  upright,  from  oae  to  two  feet  high,  rough,  open  panicle.  Flow- 
ers in  June  and  July. 

It  is  peculiar  to  swampy,  boggy  soils,  and  is  of  no  value. 

PANICUM  PILIPORME,  ^.-(Slender  Orab  Grass). 

Loves  silicious  soil ;  the  plant  is  very  smooth  and  delicate,  the  spikes 
2-6,  erect  and  filiform  like  the  culm  spikelets  in  two  or  threes,  all  pedi- 
cellate. Leaves  1-2  inches  long,  smooth  underneath,  sometimes  a  little 
hairy  above,  upper  sheathe  smooth,  the  lower  ones  sparsely  clothed 
with  fine  spreading  hairs.  It  is  annual,  like  the  preceding  ones,  but 
more  succulent. 

The  above  species  of  Panicum  all  bear  their  spikelets  crowded  2-3 
together  in  simple  and  mostly  one-sided  clustered  spikes  or  spike-like 
racemes,  wholly  awnless  and  pointless;  lower  flower  neutral,  of  a  single 
palet,  lower  glume  minute,  sometimes  obsolete  or  wanting.  They  are 
also  known  under  the  name  Digitaria,  (Gray). 

The  next  division,  Panicum  proper,  bears  spikelets  scattered  in  pani- 
cles, awnless. 

PANICUM   AGROSTOIDES,    Sprengl.—  (Agrostis-like    Panic 
Grass). 

Perennial,  growing  July  and  August  in  wet  places  and  very  common. 
Culms  2-3  feet  high,  leaves  forming  a  tuft  at  the  base  of  the  culm  2-4 
lines  wide ;  ligule  very  short,  obliquely  terminate.  Panicles  usually 
several,  the  terminal  one  longest ;  branches  mostly  in  pairs  or  somewhat 
fasciculate,  a  little  flexuous,  finally  horizantal.  Spikelets  three-fourths 
of  a  line  long,  mostly  purplish,  somewhat  crowded  and  one-sided, 
smooth.  Lower  glume  about  half  the  length  of  the  upper,  very  acute. 
Palea  of  the  perfect  flower  slightly  bearded  at  the  tip.  Cattle  eat  it. 

PANICUM  AUTUMNALE— ( Autumnal  Panic  Grass}. 

This  is  similar  to  the  last,  but  has  branching  slender  stems, 
and  only  grows  about  one  foot  high.  It  is  found  on  sandy 
hillsides,  and  old  fields.  Of  no  value  as  a  grazing  grass, 
though  eaten  when  nothipg  better  presents  itself.  Similar 
to  this  is  the 

PANICUM  AMARUM,  EU.~(Bitter  Panic  Grass). 

It  is  very  like  the  preceding,  and  grows  almost  every- 


220  NATIVE    FORAGE    PLANTS 

where  in  the  United  States.  It  affects,  however,  the  banks 
of  streams  especially.  From  its  bitter  taste  it  is  not  eaten 
by  stock. 

PANICUM  ANCEPS,Michx.--(FariaWe  Panic  Grass). 

Stems  flat,  from  two  to  three  feet  high  ;  spikelets  panicled  or  recom- 
ed,  sometimes  spiked  ;  glumes  two,  the  lower  one  short,  and  sometimes 
wanting.  Worthless. 

PANIUM  PROLIFERUM,  ^.-(Proliferous  Panic  Grass). 

Annual,  growing  in  wet  meadows,  river  banks.  Cattle  are  very  fond 
of  this  grass.  Culm  1-3  feet  long,  succulent.  Leaves  8-12  inches  or 
more  in  length,  and  half  an  inch  wide.  Sheaths  a  little  hairy  at  the 
throat.  Panicles  large  and  pyramidal ;  the  branches  much  divided, 
straight  and  capillary.  Lower  glume  very  broad  rather  obtuse  ;  upper 
one  acute,  about  7-nerved.  Perfect  flower  shorter  than  the  glumes, 
acute,  smooth,  anthers  orange. 

PANICUM  CAPILLABE,  L-(OW  Witch  Grass). 

Exceedingly  common  around  Nashville.  Annual.  Culm  1-2  feet  high? 
branching  at  the  base  and  forming  a  tuft.  Leaves  flat  2-5  lines  wide, 
hairy  with  long  fine  spreading  hairs ;  panicle  large,  pyramidal  made  up 
from  very  fine,  brittle  branches,  getting  easily  diffracted  when  they 
become  old.  Spikelets  very  small.  Old  fields  when  covered  with  it  look 
like  a  smoke  or  haze  were  spreading  over  them.  Cattle  will  not  touch  it. 

PANICUM  LATIFOLIUM--(5road-featK5d  Panic  Grass). 

Perennial.  Common  in  barrens,  especially  in  moist  thick- 
ets around  Nashville.  It  stands  in  full  vigor  in  May.  A 
very  good  pasture  grass,  bearing  the  closest  grazing,  and 
constantly  reviving.  Unfortunately  it  prefers  to  live  scat- 
tered intermixed  with  other  plants,  not  socially. 

Culm  1-2  feet  high,  simple  or  somewhat  branching.  Leaves  3-4 
inches  long,  and  an  inch  or  more  in  breadth,  cordate  and  clasping  at  the 
base,  commonly  smooth,  but  often  hairy,  spreading  horizontally,  sheaths 
about  half  the  length  of  the  internodes,  ciliate  at  the  throat,  or  on  the 
entire  margin.  Panicle  about  2  inches  long,  bearing  usually  but  ten  spike- 
lets,  which  are  about  a  line  and  a  half  long.  Lower  glume  ovate, 
loose,  upper  one  strongly  nerved. 

PANICUM  CLANDESTINUM,  ^-(Hidden-flowered  Panic  Grass). 

Perennial.  Similar,  and  growing  intermixed  with  the  above,  but  a 
month  later.  Culm  with  short  axillary  branches,  1-3  feet  high,  very 


IN   TENNESSEE.  221 

leafy.  The  leaves  broadly  lanceolate,  somewhat  cordate,  but  not 
clasping  at  the  base,  3-6  inches  long,  and  an  inch  or  more  in  breadth, 
spreading,  strongly  nerved.  Panicles  few  flowered,  terminal  or  lateral, 
the  former  either  wholly  concealed  or  only  partly  exserted.  Glumes 
acute.  Lower  flower  with  inferior  palea  resembling  the  glumes,  upper 
palea  membraaaceous,  oblong,  obtuse,  about  two-thirds  the  length  of  the 
lower  one  Perfect  flower  triandrous,  anthers  and  stigma  purple.  Val- 
uable. 

PANICUM  DICHOTOMUM  I*.~(Polymorphus  Panic  Grass) 

Perennial,  growing  in  copses  and  woods,  flowering  and 
growing  all  summer  and  fall.  Daring  its  growth  it  assumes 
a  very  variable  habit. 

Culm  8-2i  inches  high,  at  first  simple,  mostly  erect,  but  sometimes 
procumbent,  especially  when  growing  in  tufts  in  open  places ;  smooth 
or  pubesent.  Radical  leaves,  short  and  very  broad,  often  purplish 
and  usually  smooth.  Primary  panicle  more  or  less  exserted,  and  usually 
rather  compound,  the  branches  mostly  flexuous.  Late  in  the  season 
this  panicle  breaks  off,  and  the  culms  produce  branches  which  are  usual- 
ly fastigiate  and  crowded  with  small  simple  panicles  either  exserted  or 
partly  concealed  among  the  clustered  leaves.  Spikelets  very  small, 
about  one-half  line  long,  obtuse.  In  shady  thickets  it  grows  sometimes 
2-3  feet  upwards  in  crawling  and  scrambling  between  bushes.  Medium 
quality. 

PANICUM  VIRGATUM,  L.~-(Totf  smooth  Panic  Grass). 

This  species  grows  in  wet  and  sandy  soil,  one  of  the  largest  of  the 
indigenous  Panicums.  Sometimes  it  attains  a  hight  of  seven  feet,  leaves 
very  long,  flat  of  a  yellowish  tinge  when  old ;  spikelets  about  two 
lines  long;  branches  of  the  compound,  loose  and  very  large  panicle,  (9 
inches  to  2  feet)  drooping.  Not  valuable.  Flowers  in  August. 

PANICUM  CBUS  GALLI,  It.~(£arn-yard  Grass). 

Likes  manured  soil,  occurs  everywhere  in  yards,  ditches  and  miry 
places.  Annual;  Calm  2-3  feet  high,  stout,  erect  or  somewhat  procum- 
bent ;  leaves  £  inch  or  more  in  breadth.  Panicle  dense,  pyramidal,  the 
spikelets  crowded  ia  dense,  spike-form  racemes.  Glumes  acute,  awn- 
ed,  or  awns  wanting.  Glumes  and  lower  palea  hispid,  rhachis  bristly  ; 
sheaths  smooth.  Medium  quality — rough  food.  Eaten  by  cattle. 

PASPALUM,  I*.~(Paspalum). 

The  various  species  which  represent  this  genus  within  the 
border  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  rank,  in  my  opinion,  fore- 


222 


NATIVE  FORAGE  PLANTS 


most  by  the  number  of  individuals,  nutritious  qualities  and 
tenacity  of  life,  amongst  the  whole  of  the  grazing  herbage. 
They  are  perennials,  with  thick,  strong,  running  roots,  often 
making  a  dense  matting.  Wherever  they  take  hold  other 
plants  disappear.  The  blue  grass  is  specifically  known  to 
the  farmer,  and  he  recognizes  it  amongst  other  wild- 
growing  species.  The  manifold  other  species  waving  their 
culms  in  the  breeze  or  creeping  along  the  ground,  he  is  ac- 
customed to  speak  of  as  wild  grasses,  and  to  pass  over  them 
without  any  especial  care  or  notice.  Should  he  once  be  able 
to  discriminate  those  superficially  resembling  forms,  he 
would  certainly  pass  a  very  different  judgment  about  the 
relative  importance  of  the  blue  grass  and  the  other  na- 
tive species.  Blue  grass  and  Paspalum  are  frequently 
intermixed,  but  the  latter  succeeds  the 
former  by  four  to  five  weeks,  and  comes  in 
full  force  after  the  former  has  long 
perished  away.  '  Of  the  twelve  species 
known  to  exist  in  tlfe  Southern  States, 
seven  have  been  found  in  this  State. 
They  are  vigorous  growing,  succulent 
grasses,  with  heavy  culms,  large  and 
smooth  seed  grains,  with  a  smooth  and 
thin  epidermis.  They  must  surely  be  very 
nutritious,  and  their  habit  under  cultiva- 
tion ought  to  be  studied. 

Inflorescence  Paspalum  laeve  (1);  a  closed  spikelet  magnified  (2);  the 
same  with  the  parts  displayed  (3). 

PASPALUM  PLUITANS,Poir.~(^oa<m?  Paspalum). 

Annual;  growing  in  swampy  places    along   Cumberland 
river.     Its  appearance  differs   from  the   rest  of  the  genus, 
from  the  arrangement  of  the  spikes  in  a  simple  raceme.     It 
is  rare,  and  for  that  reason  of  no  importance. 
PASPALUM  LAEVE,  Michx.--(Swoo*A  Paspalum). 

Perennial ;  flowers  in  August.    Inhabiting  open,  grassy,  moist  places. 
Culms  upright,  1-3  feet  high;  the  pretty  large  and  long  leaves,    with 


IN   TEENNESSEE.  223 

their  flattened  sheaths,  smooth  or  somewhat  hairy ;  spikes  2-6,  the  later- 
al ones  somewhat  approximated  near  the  summit  of  an  elongate  naked 
peduncle,  spreading;  2-4  inches  long,  smooth,  except  a  bearded  tuft  at 
their  base;  spikelets  broadly  two-awned.  over  one  line  wide. 

PASPALUM  CILIATIFOLIUM,  Michx.--(JTatry  Slender  Paspa- 
lum). 

Perennial.  With  the  former,  flowers  in  August  and  September.  Culm 
mostly  prostrate,  1-2  feet  long,  snioothish.  Leaves  about  two  lines 
wide,  commonly  very  hairy  and  ciliate  on  the  margin.  Peduncle  of  tiie 
terminal  spike  2-6  inches  long,  arising  from  the  uppermost  sheath. 
From  the  same  sheath  usually  proceeds  another  spike,  on  a  much  shorter 
peduncle,  but  sometimes  it  is  only  partially  or  not  at  all  exserted.  Rha- 
chis  very  narrow,  convex  on  the  back,  hairy  at  the  base.  Spikelets  two 
on  a  short  forked  pedicel,  which  is  closely  appressed  to  the  rhachis,  less 
than  a  line  in  length.  Perfect  flower  as  long  as  the  glume,  very  smooth 
and  shining. 

PASPALUM  DIGITARIA,  J?oir~  (Finger-shaped  Paspalum). 

Culms  ascending  1-2J-  feet  high,  spikes  slender,  rather 
sparsely  flowered,  1-4  inches  long,  both  sessile  at  the  apex 
of  the  slender  peduncle;  spikelets  ovate — lanceolate,  2  lines 
long;  common  in  the  barrens. 

PASPALUM  DISTICHUM,  L,--(Jom*  Grass.    Perennial.) 

In  wet  places  sometimes  partly  submerged.  Nearly  glab- 
rous, nearly  glaucous;  culms  ascending,  about  one  foot  high 
from  a  long,  creeping  base;  leaves  linear — lanceolate,  spikes 
short,  1-2  inches  long,  closely  flowered,  one  shortly  pedun- 
cled,  the  other  sessile;  rhachis  flat  on  the  back;  spikelets 
ovate,  slightly  pointed,  about  1J  line  long.  Frequent 
around  Nashville.  Excellent  forage;  cattle  very  fond  of  it. 

Paspalum  Racemulosum  and  Undulatum  are  two  species 
resembling  the  former  very  much;  the  one  is  a  perennial, 
the  other  an  annual,  and  are  good  pasture  grasses. 

GYMNOSTICHUM  HYSTKIX,  Schreb.—  (Bottle-brush  Grass.) 

Belongs  to  the  tribe  of  Hordeacese,  of  which  our  wheat 

and  barley  are  also  members.     It  bears  a  general  resemb- 


224 


NATIVE    FOEAGE    PLANTS 


lance  to  them.  Spike  loose,  the  spreading  spikelets  tipped, 
with  an  awn  about  one  inch  long.  Root  perennial.  The 
foliage  of  the  tufts  is  very  tender  before  appearance  of  the 
culm.  Flowers  in  July,  and  is  very  common  in  the  State. 
Good  forage. 

ELYMUS   VIRGINICUS,  "L. -(Virginian  Lyme  Grass.     Wild  Eye. 

jrerennial.} 


The  two  spikelets  of  one  joint  of  the  spike  of 
E.  Virginicus,  about  the  natural  size  (1);  the 
glumes  and  the  flowers  of  one  spikelet,  enlarged 
and  displayed  (2);  and  an  open  flower  more  mag- 
nified (8). 

Spik  e  erect,  dense  and  rigid,  spikelets  in  pairs, 
2-3  flowered,  the  flowers  nearly  smooth,  glumes 
lanceolate,  strongly  nerved,  as  long  as  the  spike- 
let.  Culm  2-4  feet  high.  Forms  large  tufts  of 
broadly  liner  bright  green,  rough  leaves,  which 
commence  putting  out  in  March,  and  afford  a  good 
early  pasturage.  It  is  very  valuable,  and  ought 
to  be  tried  in  cultivation. 


ELYMUS  STRIATUS,  WiU.d.-(Small  Lyme  Grass}. 

Pubescent  or  villous;  spike  dense  and  thickish,  upright 
or  slightly  nodding;  spikelets  in  pairs,  1-2  flowered,  bristly 
hairy;  glumes  awl-shaped,  bristle  —  awned,  1-3  nerved, 
about  twice  the  length  of  the  flowers,  exclusive  of  the  ca- 
pillary awn,  which  is  about  7  inches  long.  Very  common 
in  dry,  sandy  places.  Poor  grass. 

ELYMUS  CANADENSIS.--(Omacft<m  Lyme  Grass.     Wild  Rye}. 

Perennial,  common,  flowering  in  July.  Spike  loose,  nodding  at  the 
extremity;  glumes  lanceolate,  subulate;  awned,  prominently  nerved. 
Culms  3-4  feet  high,  spike  6-8  inches  long.  Glume  strictly  one  line 
wide. 

As  good  as  E.  Virginicus. 


IN   TENNESSEE.  225 

AIR  A  CAESPITOSA  I*.~(Tufted  Hair  Grass.) 


Stems  erect,  round,  rough, 
and  in  tufts;  leaves  flat,  linear, 
acute,  sheaths  striated,  rough- 
ish,  the  upper  one  longer  than 
its  leaf,  pyramidal,  oblong; 
panicle  large  and  drooping, 
but  becomes  erect  as  it  ripens, 
and  its  branches  spread  in 
every  direction.  Short  awns. 
It  is  like  the  "Wood  hair 
grass,"  only  in  the  latter  the 
awn  of  the  lower  floret  does 
not  protrude  beyond  the 
glumes. 

It  is  peculiar  to  marshy 
lands  especially  where  water 
stands,  and  may  often  be  seen 
in  meadows  or  pastures,  form- 
ing large  unsightly  tussocks 
over  the  field.  Cattle  will  not 
eat  it  at  all. 


DANTHONIA  SPICATA,  Beauv.~(  FHd  Oat  Grass). 

Is  a  perennial  grass,  with  short  leaves,  narrow  sheaths, 
bearded;  stem  one  foot  high,  slender,  panicle  simple;  spike- 
lets  seven  flowered;  lower  palet  broadly  ovate,  hairy  on  the 
back,  longer  than  its  awl-shaped  teeth. 

Dry  sterile  soil,  one  of  the  earliest  grasses.     April. 

HORDEUM  PRATENSB,  "Kuds. -(Squirrel-Tail  Grass). 

Alow,  6-18  inches  high  grass,    looking  much  like    barley.     It  is  a» 
annual.     Not  particularly  valuable. 
15 


226  NATIVE   FORAGE   PLANTS 

ARUNDINARIA  MARCOSPERMA,  MiGhx--(2xw0e  Cane,)  and 

ARUN  DINARIA  TECTA,  Michx.--(<Stootf  Cane). 
Are  very  generally  known,  and  have  already  been  mentioned. 

TJNIOLA  LATIFOLIA  Michx-- (Broad-leaved  Spike  Grass). 

This  is  a  very  graceful  grass,  well-known  to  ladies  for  making  winter 
bouquets.  Flowers  in  July  on  cliffs  and  river  banks.  Leaves  nearly 
one  inch  wide,  spikelets  large,  f  inches  long  and  £  broad,  very  flat, 
looking  like  compressed,  ovoid,  drooping  from  long  capillary  pedicels. 
Of  little  value  lor  forage. 

UNIOLA  GRA.CILIS  Michx.- 

Another  very  different  looking  species,  deserves  no  discription. 
TRITICUM  REPENS,  L.--(OmeA  Gross.) 

Spikelets,  4-8,  flowered,  glabrous  or  nearly  so,  glumes,  5-7-nerved, 
rhachis  glabrous,  but  rough  on  the  edges.  Occurs  here  and  there  in 
fields  and  gardens.  Very  troublesome. 

TRITICUM  CANINUM,  Linn- (Fibrous-rooted  Wheat   Grass). 

Spikelets  four  to  five  flowered ;  glumes  3-5  nerved ; 
rhachis  rough  and  bristly  on  the  edges;  awn  twice  the  length 
of  palet,  leaves  flat  and  roughish. 

It  resembles  very  much  the  "Couch"  grass,  only  it  has 
no  creeping  roots  like  the  latter.  It  is  perennial,  and  is 
usually  found  in  cultivated  fields.  It  grows  from  two  to 
three  feet  high,  and  flowers  in  August.  It  is  greedily  eaten 
by  stock,  but  its  habit  of  spreading  in  grain  fields  render* 
it  rather  a  pest  than  useful.  Its  occurrence  here  is  doubt- 
ful. 


IN  TENNESSEE.  227 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

BROMUS — FESTUCA — POA — ERAGROSTIS — EATONIA — Di- 
ARRHENA — ELEUSINE — MELIOA — Gl/VCERIA — GYMNO- 
POGON — ARISTIDA — STIPA — CYNODON — BOUTELOUA  — 

MUHLENBERGIA  —  SPOROBULUS  — VlLFA  —  ClNNA 

AGROSTIS — BROMUS — ZIZANIA — LEERSIA. 

BROMUS  L.--(JBrome  Grass.) 

A  epikelet  of  Bromus  Secalimus,  (1);  a 
separate  flower  enlarged,  (2).  Spikelets  5, 
many  flowered,  panicled,  glumes  unequal, 
membranaceous,  the  lower  1-5,  the  upper 
3-9  nerved,  lower  palet  either  convex  on 
the  back  or  compressed,  keeled,  5-9  nerved, 
awned  or  bristle  -  pointed  from  below ; 
mostly  two  cleft  tip,  upper  palet  at  length 
adhering  to  the  groove  of  the  oblong  or  linear  grain.  Stamens  three. 

BROMUS  SECALINUS,  L--(CAeo<  or  Chess). 
Common  in  wheat  fields^  but  too  well  known. 

BROMUS  RACEMOSTJS,  L--(  Upngto  Ctea). 

Occurs  with  the  above.  The  panicle  of  the  first  is  always  spreading, 
tke  one  of  the  second  narrowly  contracted  in  fruit. 

BROMUS  MOLLIS,  !,--(&>/<  Chess.) 

Also  in  wheat  fields ;  the  whole  plant  soft,  downy.  They  are  all 
three  annuals,  adventitious  from  Europe.  Troublesome  weeds  as  they 
arc  in  wheat  fields,  if  sown  for  themselves,  they  will  make  very  heavy 
crops  of  hay,  and  will  be  eaten  by  cattle. 

BROMUS  KALMII,  Gray,- 

Is  the  only  indigenous  kind.  Perennial.  Culms  2-&  feet  high. 
Panicle  3  inches  long,  the  branches  short  and  nearly  simple,  spikeletg 
drooping  on  capillary  peduncles,  closely  of  7-12  flowered,  densely  silky 


228  NATIVE    FOE  AGE    PLANTS 

all  over ;  awn  only  one-third  the  length  of  the  lance— oblong  flower. 
Dry  ground,  scattered  in  the  woods.  Ought  to  be  tried  how  it  does 
under  cultivation. 

BROMUS  CILIATUS,  ^--(Ciliated  Broom  Grass). 

Has  a  compound  panicle,  loose  nodding,  spikelets  seven  to  twelve 
flowered,  flowers  tipped  with  awns  less  than  their  length,  leaves  large. 
Culms  three  to  four  feet  high.  Grows  in  old  fields.  Worthless. 

PESTUCA,  Linn--(.Fescwe  Grass). 

A  spikelet  of  F.  elatior  enlarged  (1);  as  i  * :  r' 
flower  (2);  lower  part  of  a  lower  palet  outspread, 
(3). 

Spikelets  3 ;  many  flowered,  panicled  or  race- 
mose ;  the  flowers  not  webby  at  the  base.  Glumes 
unequal,  mostly  keeled.  Palets  chartaceous,  or 
almost  coriaceous,  roundish  on  the  back,  more  or 
less  3-5  nerved,  acute  pointed,  or  often  bristle- 
awned  from  the  tip,  rarely  blunt ;  the  upper  most- 
ly adhering  at  maturity  at  the  enclosed  grain.  Stamens  1-3,  flowers  and 
leaves  often  dry  and  harsh 

PESTUCA  MYURUS,  L,  and  FUSTUCA  TENELLA,  Willd. 

Are  both  annuals,  growing  single,  flowers  awned,  paniclef  contracted. 
They  appear  early  and  make  good  sheep  pasture. 

PESTUCA  ELATIOR,  L-(!Ta«  Fescue  Grass). 

Perennial,  growing  in  wet  grass  lands ;  panicle  narrow,  contracted 
before  and  after  flowering,  erect,  with  short  branches ;  spikelets  crowd- 
ed 5-10  flowered  ;  flowers  rather  remote,  oblong,  lanceolate. 

PESTUCA  NUTANS,  WHld-(Nodding  Fescue  Grass.). 

Perennial ;  2-4  feet  high,  growing  in  copses.  Panicle  of  several  long 
and  slender,  spreading  branches,  mostly  in  pairs,  drooping  when  old, 
rough,  naked  below  the  spikelets,  on  pretty  long  pedicels.  It  is  a  strong 
looking  grass.  It  never  grows  gregarious.  Both  these  species  are  eat- 
en by  cattle  and  are  of  medium  quality. 

PESTUCA  OVINA,  Ir~-(Hard  Fescue  Grass.) 

Is  a  low  growing  perennial,  with  a  contracted  one-sided  panicle, 
grows  gregarious,  often  covering  extensive  patches.  Excellent  for 
sheep;  flowers  in  May  The  Fescues  have  been  described  in  "pasture 
grasses. " 


IN    TENNESSEE. 


229 


POA,  Ij.— (Meadow  Gh-ass). 

Panicle  of  Poa  compressa,  reduced  in 
size  (1);  a  magnified  spikelets  (2);  a  sepa- 
rate flower  more  magnified  (3);  a  lower 
palet  cut  across  and  somewhat  outspread 
(4)', 

vate  or  lanceolate,  laterally 
compressed,  several;  2-10  flowered  in  an 
i  )i;iicl  e.  Glumes  mostly  shorter 
than  the  flowers;  the  lower  smaller.  Low- 
er palet  membranaceous;  herbaceous,  with 
a  delicate  scarious,  margin ;  compressed, 
keeled,  pointless,  5  nerved,  (the  inter- 
mediate nerves  more  obscure  or  obsolete), 
the  principal  nerves  commonly  clothed 
at  and  towa  ds  the  base  with  soft  hairs ;  upper  palet  membranaceous, 
2,  toothed  ;  base  of  the  flower  often  cobwebby.  Stamens  2-8.  Stigmas 
simply  plumose.  Grain  oblong,  free.  Culms  tufted  from  perennial 
roots,  except  Poa  annua.  Leaves  smooth,  usually  flat  and  soft 

The  softness  and  greater  roundness  of  the  spikelets,  the  absence  of 
bristle  awned  tips,  the  open  pyramidal  panicle  give  this  genus  a  habit 
which  distinguishes  it  readily  from  the  allied  genus  Festuca. 

Besides  the  species  formerly  described  with  the  cultivated  grasses, 
there  remain  to  mention  : 

POA  ALSODES,  Gray— (Leafy  Meadow  Grass.} 

The  uppermost  leares  often  sheathing  the  capillary  branches  of  the 
loose  panicle,  which  generally  stands  in  threes  or  fours  Lower  palet 
very  obscurely  nerved,  villose  on  the  keel  below.  Woods.  Flowers 
in  April  and  May.  It  is  a  scattered  growing  grass. 

POA  SYLVESTRIS,  Gra,y~(Sylvan  Meadow  Grass.) 

Spikelets  very  small,    loosely   2-4.  flowered.  Culms   flatish,    erect; 

branches  of  the  oblong  pyramidal  panicle  short,  numerous,  in  fives  or 

more.     A  very  light  and  tender  grass,  growing  scattered  through  the 
woods.     May. 

POA  DEBILIS,  Torrey~(  Weak  Meadow  Grass). 

Panicle  loose,  few  flowered,  somewhat  spreading;  the  branches  mostly 
in  pairs,  flexuous,  a  little  rough ;  spikelets  ovate,  obtuse,  3  flowered ; 
the  flowers  webbed  at  the  base,  smoothish  lower  palea  oblong,  obtuse, 
slightly  3-nerved ;  leaves  and  sheaths  smooth ;  ligule,  oblong,  acute. 
Perennial.  Flowers  in  May;  a  soft  eatable,  but  too  scattered  growing 
grass. 


230  NATIVE    FOKAGE   PLANTS 

ERAGROSTIS    CAPILLARIS,    Ness  —  (Hair-panided  Meadow 
Grass.} 

Spikelets  small,  two  to  four  flowered,  greenish  and  purplish,  leavei 
and  sheaths  hairy ;  panicle  loose,  delicate  and  spreading  and  one  to 
two  feet  long. 

It  flowers  in  August  and  September,  and  grows  in  poor 
waste  places.  May  be  used  in  dried  flower  bouquets. 

ERAGROTIS  TENTHS,  Gray--(Z>eftcafc  Spear  Grass.) 

Glumes  awl-shaped  and  very  acute ;  lower  palea  three-nerved,  leaves 
from,  one  to  two  feet  long;  panicles  very  loose,  one  to  two  feet  long. 
Flowers  from  August  until  frost  sets  in. 

It  grows  on  rich  sandy  soil,  and  is  of  no  value  for  graz- 
ing. Exceedingly  common  on  river  banks. 

ERAGROTIS   PURSHII,  Schrad--(/SWAem  Eragrostis). 

Has  a  lengthened,  widely  spreading  panicle,  very  loose  ;  branching 
stems  spikelets  two  to  seven-flowered;  glumes  and  lower  palea  acute. 
Flowers  in  August.  Nashville.  No  value. 

ERAGROSTIS  MEGASTACHYA,  IAn}a-(Pungent  Eragrostis.) 

Flowers  in  August  or  September,  and  emits  a  sharp, 
pungent  odor,  when  fresh,  hence  its  name.  It  grows  on 
sandy  fields ;  Nashville  in  all  gardens  as  a  weed.  It  is  re- 
jected by  stock. 

EATONIA  Raff,  (Eatonia)-- 

Spikelets  usually  2-flowered,  and  with  an  abortive  rudiment  or  pedi- 
cel, numerous  in  a  contracted  or  slender  panicle,  very  smooth.  Glumei 
somewhat  equal  in  length,  but  very  dissimilar,  a  little  shorter  than  the 
flowers;  the  lower  narrowly  linear,  keeled,  1 -nerved  ;  the  upper  broad- 
ly obovate  folded  round  the  flowers,  3-nerved  on  the  back,  not  keeled, 
scarious  margined.  Lower  palet  oblong,  obtuse,  compressed,  boat- 
shaped,  naked,  chartaceo  is ;  the  upper  very  thin  and  hyaline.  Sta- 
mens 3.  Grain  linear  oblong,  not  grooved. 

EATONIA  PENNSYLVANIA,  Gray-  (Pennsylvanian Eatvnia.) 

A  perennial  and  slender  grass  with  simple  and  tufted  culms,  polished 
and  shining  spikelets  like  no  other  of  the  indigenous  grasses.  It  grows 
plentifully  in  Middle  Tennessee,  loves  borders  of  woods  and  thickets. 
Cattle  seem  to  prefer  it  to  any  other  pickings  in  the  woods. 


IN   TENNESSEE.  231 

DIARRHENA,  Baff.--(Dwfr*ena). 

Spikelets  several  flowered,  smooth  and  shining,  one  or  two  of  the  up- 
permost flowers  sterile,  glumes  ovate,  much  shorter  than  the  flowers, 
coriaceous ;  the  lower  one  much  smaller.  Lower  palet  ovate,  convex 
on  the  back,  rigidly  coriaceous,  its  3  nerves  terminating  in  a  strong  and 
abrupt  cuspidate  or  awl-shaped  tip.  Squamulae  ovate,  ciliate.  Sta- 
mens two.  Grain  very  large,  obliquely  ovoid,  obtusely  pointed,  rather 
longer  than  the  palets,  the  cartilaginous,  shining  pericarps  not  adherent 
to  the  seed.  A  nearly  smooth  perrennial,  with  running  rootstalks, 
producing  simple  culms,  2-3  feet  high,  with  long  linear  lanceolate 
flat  leaves  towards  the  base,  naked  above,  bearing  a  few  short  pedicelled 
spikelets  in  a  very  simple  panicle. 

DIARRHENA  AMERICANA,  Beauv. 

American  Diarrhena,  is  the  only  species  frequent  in  our  woods,  and 
in  quality  as  food  about  equal  to  the  cheat. 

ELUSINE  INDICA,  Gaert— (Crab  Grass— Yard  Grass}. 

Spikelets  2-6  flowered,  with  a  terminal  naked  rudiment,  closely  imbri- 
cate-spiked  on  one  side  of  a  flattish  rhachis ;  the  spikes  digitate. 
Glumes  membranaceous  pointless,  shorter  than  the  flowers.  Palets  awn- 
less  and  pointless;  the  lower  ovate,  keeled,  larger  than  the  upper.  Sta- 
mens 3.  Pericarp  containing  a  loose  oval,  and  wrinkled  seed.  Culms 
oblique  compressed  and  flat  at  the  base.  Spikes  2-4. 

It  is  found  in  every  garden,  around  every  house,  and  is 
spread  over  most  parts  of  the  world.  It  is  an  annual,  but 
its  roots  holds  so  firmly  to  the  soil  that  it  is  difficult  to  pull 
it  up  with  the  hand.  It  forms  very  good  and  lasting  pick- 
ing for  all  stock.  It  is  also  called  Wire-grass  or  Dog's-tail. 
MELICA  MUTICA,  W*\t. —(Blunt-spiked  Melim). 

Spikelets  one-five  flowered;  glumes  convex,  obtuse,  and  large. 
Stamens  three,  panicle  loose,  smooth  and  simple.  On  cliffs  and  in 
copses,  1J-2  feet  high,  soft  and  eatable.  One  of  the  earliest  spring 
grasses. 

GLYCERIA  PALLIDA,  TRIN.--(Pa?e  Manna  Grass). 

Panicle  erect,  with  hairy  branches ;  has  few,  linear,  oblong  spike- 
lets,  from  five  to  nine  flowered ;  lower  palea  oblong,  minutely  five- 
toothed;  short,  sharp- pointed,  pale-green  leaves;  stems  creeping  at  the 
base,  from  one  to  two  feet  long. 

It  grows  in  shallow  water,  or  very  wet,  boggy  places,  and 
is  of  no  agricultural  value  whatever,  as  it  will  not  grow  on 
good,  dry  soils. 


232  NATIVE     FORAGE   PLANTS 

GLYCERIA  CANADENSIS,  ^-(Rattlesnake  Grass.) 

Has  a  spreading  panicle,  oblong,  pyramidal,  with  drooping  spikelets, 
six  or  eight  flowered,  long  rough  leaves,  creeping  perennial  root,  palea 
awnless,  the  lower  rounded  on  the  back,  and  flowers  in  July. 

It  resembles  quaking  grass  very  much ;  in  swampy 
places,  and  rises  from  two  to  three  feet  high.  Doubtful 
whether  it  occurs  in  this  State. 

GYMNOPOGON  BBEVIFOLIUS,  Trin--(<S&ort  Leaved  Beard 
Grass). 

Spikelets  on  long  stalks,  flower  bearing  only  above  the  middle,  low- 
er palea  short  awned,  glumes  pointed,  leaves  short,  flat  and  thick? 
stigmas  purple,  pencil  shaped ;  stamens  three. 

This  is  a  very  rare  grass.     Found  near  Tullahoma. 

ABISTIDA  GBACILIS,  ElL--(S/ender  Triple-awned  Grass). 

Culms  slender,  erect,  6-18  inches  high  with  a  spike-like  virgate  pan- 
icle ;  the  esxerted  lateral  awns  one  third-one  half  the  length  of  the  hor- 
izontally bent  middle  one. 

Sandy  soil  on  open  sunny  places,   very  small  and    thin. 
July — September. 
ABISTIDA  DICHOTOMA«(Powrty  Grass). 

Spikelets  small,  on  short  contracted  racemes,  closely  crowded  to- 
gether, very  small  awns  at  the  sides  of  the  palea,  the  middle  one  bent 
down.  Grows  in  tufts,  stems  greatly  branched,  and  is  from  one  foot  to 
eighteen  inches  high. 

It  is  called  poverty  grass  because  it  is  seldom  seen  except 
on  old  barren  fields,  too  poor  for  cultivation,  and  contains 
no  nutriment. 

STIPA  AVENACEA,  Ij-.(Black  Oat  Grass). 

It  stands  generally  about  two  feet  high,  has  an  open  panicle,  and  its 
leaves  are  almost  like  bristles.  Palea  blackish,  nearly  as  long  as  the 
glumes,  terminated  by  an  awn  that  is  twisted  below  and  bent  above.  The 
spikelets  are  one-flowered,  and  the  flowers  are  borne  on  a  very  slender 
stalk.  It  is  a  perennial  grass. 

Not  frequent  in  this  State.  Near  Charleston,  Bradley  Co. 
Completely  worthless.  July — August. 

The  Bermuda  grass,  formerly  described,  and  the  dispisa- 
ble  Burr  Grass,  (Cenchrus),  are  extremely  frequent  on  the 
shifting  sands  of  the  Mississippi  river. 


IN    TENNESSEE. 


233 


Boutelona. 


BOUTELOUA,  Lagasca.--(.flf«*fc&  Grass.) 

Spikelets  crowded  and  closely  sessile 
in  two  rows  on  one  side  of  a  flattened 
rhachis,  comprising  one  perfect  flower 
below  and  one  or  more  sterile  or  rudi- 
mentary flowers.  Glumes  convex  keel- 
ed, the  lower  one  shorter.  Perfect  flow- 
er with  the  3 -nerved  lower  palet  8- 
toothed,  or  cleft  at  the  apex,  the  2-nerv- 
ed  upper  palet  2-toothed ;  the  teeth,  at 
least  of  the  former,  pointed  or  subulate, 
awned.  Stamens  3,  anthers  orange  col- 
ored or  red. 

A  portion  of  the  compound  spike  of  the  natural  size,  (1);  and  a  spike- 
let  displayed  and  magnified,  (2);  the  flowers  raised  out  of  the  glumes. 

BOUTELOUA  CURTIPENDULA,  Gray.~(lZbrse  Shoe  Grass). 
Culms  tufted  from  a  perennial  root  stalk  which  spreads  in  a  semi-circu- 
lar form  like  a  horse-shoe.  Leaves  narrow,  spikes  one-half  inch  or  les* 
in  length,  nearly  sessile.  Flowers  scabrous.  It  grows  abundantly  in 
the  pine  barrens  of  Middle  Tennessee,  (Lavergne,  Smyrna),  and  is  one 
of  the  best  pasture  grasses. 

MUHLENBERGIA,  Schreb.--(Drop-seed  Grass.) 


Spikelets  one-flowered,  in  contracted  or  rarely  in 
open  panicles.  Glumes  mostly  ovate,  acute  or  brist- 
ly pointed,  persistent ;  the  lower  rather  smaller  or 
minute.  Flower  very  short,  stalked  or  sessile  in  the 
glumes ;  the  palets  usually  minutely  bearded  at  the 
base,  herbaceous,  deciduous  with  the  enclosed  grain, 
often  equal,  the  lower  3 -nerved,  mucronate  or  awned 
at  the  apex.  Stamens  three. 

The  most  species  of  this  genus  look  like  a  diminu- 
tive decumbent  cane,  from  the  dry,  somewhat  stiff 
aspect  of  the  leaves  and  the  hard  and  polished,  really 
cane-like  condition  of  the  stems. 

A  magnified  closed  spikelet  of  Muhlenbergia  syl- 
vatica,  (1);  the  same  with  the  open  flower  raised  out 
of  the  glumes,  (3);  its  minute  and  unequal  glumet 
more  magnified,  (4);  and  an  open  spikelet  of  the 
same,  (5). 


234  NATIVE    FORAGE    PLANTS 

MUHLENBERGIA  DIPPUSA,  Sch.--(JVm6fe  Will). 

Culms  diffusely  branched,  8-18  inches  high,  panicles  contracted, 
slender,  glumes  extremely  minute  awns  once  or  twice  longer  than  the 
palet.  August — September.  Very  abundant. 

MUHLENBERGIA    GLOMERATA,    Trin.  —  (Cluster- Spiked 

Muhlenbergia) . 

Panicle  oblong,  2-3  inches  long,  contracted  into  an  interrupted  glomer- 
ate spike,  long  peduncled,  the  branches  sessile,  glumes  awned.  August. 

MUHLENBERGIA    MEXICANA,    Trin.  --  (Mexican    Muhlen- 
bergia} . 

Culms  ascending,  much  branched,  2-3  feet  high,  panicles  lateral  and 
terminal  often  included  at  the  base,  contracted,  the  branches  densely 
spiked,  clustered,  linear.  Glumes  awnless  sharp  pointed.  With  the 
former  along  the  borders  of  creeks  and  river  banks.  Abundant. 

MUHLENBERGIA    SYLVATICA,  Torr  &  Gray.  —  ( Wood 

Muhlenbergia). 

Culms  ascending,  much  branched  and  diffusely  spreading  2-4  feet 
long ;  contracted  panicles  densely  many  flowered  ;  glumes  almost  equal, 
bristle  pointed,  nearly  as  long  as  the  lower  palet, '  which  bears  an  awn 
twice  or  thrice  the  length  of  the  spikelet.  Woods,  common.  August — 
September. 

All  the  species  of  Muhlenbergia  are  but  a  very  poor  forage,  and  while 
other  things  are  plenty,  they  are  not  sought  after.  Yet  as  all  of  them 
possess  the  quality  of  staying  green  until  late  in  the  winter,  they  are 
of  great  help  for  stook  beating  about  on  cold  and  dreary  winter  days. 
In  cultivated  grounds  they  are  a  great  nuisance,  their  far-reaching , 
creeping  roots  being  nearly  unexterminable. 

SPOROBOLUS,  R.  BT~( Drop-seed  grass.) 

Spikelets  one,  rarely  two-flowered  in  a  contracted 
or  open  panicle,  the  palets  longer  than  the  unequal 
glumes.  Stamens,  2-8.  Grain  a  globular  utricle 
(hyaline  or  rather  coriaceous),  containing  a  loose 
seed  which  drop  out  very  readily  at  maturity. 

A  spike  of  Sporobolus  magnified,  (1);  the  same 
with  the  flower  open,  the  palets  raised  above  the 
glumes,  (2);  and  the  fruit,  (3),  more  magnified, 
showing  the  seed  loose  in  the  pericarp. 

SPOROBOLUS  INDICUS,  Brown-- (Indian  Drop  Seed). 
Culms  erect ;  panicle  elongated,  linear ;  leaves  long,  flat ;  palea  twice 


IN   TENNESSEE.  235 

as  long  as  the  glumes,  the  upper  one  truncated.  Growing  in  large  patch- 
es about  Tullahoma,  Cowen,  etc. 

All  parts  of  the  plant  are  equally  pliant  and  succulent ; 
it  sprouts  again,  after  being  pastured  down,  with  numerous 
new  culms,  and  its  growing  season  lasts  from  May  till  frost. 
The  culms  stand  about  2  feet  high,  and  it  is  naturally  social. 
As  far  as  I  observed  I  found  it  always  growing  in 
patches.  It  grows  in  low  and  small  tufts  and  sticks  firmly 
to  the  soil.  I  would  very  earnestly  recommend  to  try  it 
under  cultivation.  In  addition  to  my  own  observations,  I 
would  state  that  the  Agricultural  Report  for  1870,  in  a  pa- 
per on  the  grasses  of  the  plains  and  the  eastern  slope  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  after  enumerating  142  species  of 
grasses  indigenous  over  that  region,  and  selecting  twelve  of 
them  as  the  most  valuable  of  them  all,  accepts  Sporobolus 
Heterolepis,  an  allied  species,  as  one  of  them.  It  is  there 
said,  "  This  species  is  peculiarly  palatable  to  cattle,  and  they 
are  seen  roving  over  rich  pastures  of  other  species  in  search 
of  it.  This  is  also  said  to  be  the  winter  forage  species  of 
cattle,  where  it  abounds,  affording  the  rich  winter  pasturage 
of  the  farmers  and  herders  of  Kansas.  It  flourishes 
chiefly  on  the  moister  portions  of  the  plains,  and  many  local 
areas  are  almost  exclusively  occupied  by  it." 

ARRHENATHERUM    AVENACETJM,   Beauv.— -(Tall  Oat 

Grass.} 

Spikelets  open,  panicled,  two -flowered,  with  a  rudiment  of  the  third 
flower;  the  middle  awn  flower  perfect,  its  lower  palet  barely  bristle,  point- 
ed from  near  the  top  ;  the  lowest  flower  staminate  only,  bearing  a  long, 
bent  awn  below  the  middle  of  the  back.  Looking  much  like  oat.  Per 
rennial.  Has  been  tried  with  good  results  in  cultivation.  Flowering 
in  June. 

Not  very  frequent  in  this  State.  Old  fields,  Clifton  pike, 
Nashville. 

TRICTJSPIS   SESLEROIDES,  Torr.~(TaU  Red  Tap.) 

Perennial ;  culm  upright,  3-5  feet  high,  very  smooth,  as  are  the 
flat  leaves,  panicle  large  and  compound,  the  rigid,  capillary  branches 
spreading,  naked  below  ;  spikelets  shining,  purple. 


236 


NATIVE  FORAGE  PLANTS 


A  showy  grass,  but  too  hard  to  be  eaten  by  stock.  Fre- 
quent in  light  soil.  July — August. 

VILPA  VAGIN-EJFIiORA,  Torr-iSouthern  Poverty  Grass). 

Annual,  culms  slender,  6- 12  inches  high,  leaves,  convolute,  awl-shaped, 
1-4  inches  long.  Panicle  single  and  spiked,  the  lateral  and  often  the 
terminal  concealed  in  the  sheaths. 

Growing  in  the  poorest  places,  and  in  the  streets  of  Nash- 
ville. 
CINNA  ARUND1NACEA,  L.— (Indian  Reed.} 

Spikelets,  one  flowered  much  flattened,  crowded  in  an  open  flaccid 
panicle,  glumes  lanceolate,  acute,  strongly  keeled.  Flower  manifest- 
ly stalked  in  the  glumes,  smooth  and  naked;  the  palets  much  like  the 
glumes,  the  lower  longer  than  the  upper,  short,  awned  or  rnucrouate  on 
the  back. 

A  tall,  sweet-scented  grass,  with  ample  terminal  panicle. 
Damp  woods.     Flowering  and  fruiting,   July   to    October. 
Worthless. 
AGBOSTIS  CANINA.— L.    Brown  Bent-Grass. 

Has  an  erect,  slender,  spreading  panicle  5 
creeping,  perennial  root ;  slender,  erect  stem ; 
and  linear  leaves ;  glomes  longer  than  the  palea. 
a  bent  awn  on  the  palea ;  greenish  spikelets, 
afterwards  turning  brown,  whence  its  name ; 
flower  but  one  in  a  spikelet;  open  panicle; 
stamens  three. 

It  is  a  native  of  Europe,  but  intro- 
duced into  the  United  States  where  it 
now  is  occasionally  found  in  meadows. 
It  flowers  in  middle  summer,  and  is  of 
no  agricultural  value.  A  variety  of  it 
(Agrostis  Rupestris,  Chapman)  occurs 
in  the  higher  Alleghany  mountains,' 
where  it  is  indigenous. 


Agrostis  Canina. 


IN    TENNESSEE.  237 

AGEOTIS  SCABBA,  WilId.-(Tickle  Grass). 

Another  species  of  agrostis,  with  a  loose  spreading,  purplish  panicie, 
the  branches  having  the  flowers  near  the  apex ;  stems  slender,  and  from 
ODC  to  two  feet  high;  short  narrow  leaves.  It  flowers  in  July. 

Its  exceedingly  delicate  panicles  when  ripe,  are  easily 
broken  from  the  stem,  and  carried  away.  On  this  account 
it  is  sometimes  called  "Fly-away-grass."  It  is  of  no  value. 

AGROSTIS   PEREWNANS,  Tuckerm.— Everlasting  Bent-Grass. 
Has  a  diffusely  spreading  panicle,    pale   green;  branches  short,   di- 
vided ;  flower  bearing  from  the  middle,  perennial. 

Doubtful  whether  in  this  State.  Similar  to  the  Herds 
grass. 

ZIZANIA  AQUATIC  A,  L. — ( Water  or  Indian  Rice.} 

This  is  probably  the  only  species  occuring  in  this  State,  and  this  I  have 
never  seen  yet  myself,  but  from  information  I  believe  it  to  occur  quite 
frequently  in  West  Tennessee.  It  is  a  tall  growing  annual,  culms  three 
—nine  feet  high,  leaves  flat,  two  to  three  feet  long.  It  bears  its  flowers 
in  a  large  panicle,  the  lower  branches  of  which  bear  the  male  flowers, 
and  soon  drop  off,  while  the  upper  are  female,  consisting  of  two  pa- 
leas,  (glumes  are  absent  in  this  genus),  the  lower  one  oblong,  keeled, 
terminating  in  a  straight  awn.  Seed  terete,  about  half  an  inch  long, 
blackish  when  ripe,  but  white  and  farinaceous  internally.  It  grows 
in  swamps,  and  on  the  borders  of  rivulets  and  lakes,  very  frequent  in 
the  northwest,  where  its  grain  is  a  favorite  article  of  food  among  the 
Indians,  and  cattle  are  also  very  fond  of  the  herbage.  In  inundated 
regions,  which  are  worthless  for  other  cultivation,  it  ought  to  be  sown 
like  rice.  An  acre  of  it  is  about  equal  in  nutriment  to  an  acre  of 
wheat. 
ZIZANIA  MILIACEA,  Michx- 

If  it  should  occur   within  our  territory,  is  similar  to  the  foregoing, 
and  a  perennial. 
LEERSIA,  Solander--(TOte  Grass.) 

Spikelets  one  flowered,  compressed,  glumes  none.  Paleae  two,  awn- 
less,  closed,  equal  in  length,  but  the  lower  one  much  broader,  carinate. 
Stamens  2-3. 

LEERSIA  ORYZOIDES,  Swartz— (Cut  Grass..) 

Panicle  branched,  diffuse ;  rhlzoma  creeping,  perennial.  Culms  3-5 
feet  high  geniculate  at  the  base.  Leaves  2-3  lines  wide,  very  rough, 
with  minute  hooked  prickles,  as  are  also  the  sheaths.  • 

Growing  in  ditches  and  swamps.     September. 


238  NATIVE    FORAGE   PLANTS 

LEERSIA  VIRGINICA,  Willd—  (White  Grass.} 

Panicle  simple  ;  the  spikelets  closely  appressed  on  the  slender 
branches,  around  which  they  are  partly  curved;  palets  greenish  white. 
Wet  woods,  common.  July,  September. 

LEERSIA  LENTICULARIS,  Michx— Fly-catch-grose. 

Spikelets  broadly  oval,  imbricately  covering  each  other,  2^-3  lines 
long.  Smoothish,  panicle  simple  ;  palets  very  flat,  strongly  bristly  «il- 
iate,  (said  to  close  and  catch  flies).  Wet  places  with  the  above,  fre- 
quent. 

Those  three  species,  although  they  are  of  no  value,  are 
described  here  for  their  being  frequently  met  with  as  pecu- 
liar grasses  and  easily  recognizable. 


Descriptions  of  other  native  forage  plants  contributed  by 
Dr.  Gattinger,  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  Leguminous 
plants. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  239 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS 


AND 


CONCERNING    MANURES 


CHAPTER  XX. 

MEADOWS  AND  PASTURES — THEIR  PREPARATION — DRAIN- 
AGE— SELECTION  OF  SEEDS — TIME  OF  SOWING — CUT- 
TIM  G,  CURING  AND  SAVING  HAY — MANAGEMENT  AND 
IMPROVEMENT  OF  MEADOWS — MANURES  AND  MANNER 
OF  APPLICATION. 

Meadows  exist  in  various  sections  of  the  State  to  a  lim- 
ited extent,  and  it  being  the  object  of  this  work  to  foster 
this  branch  of  agriculture,  the  best  plans  for  encouraging 
and  treating  them  will  be  discussed.  The  subject  requires  no 
argument  to  encourage  it,  as  every  right-thinking  man  will 
see  at  a  glance  the  great  importance  of  growing  more  hay. 
It  is,  in  the  observation  of  every  one,  that  vast  amounts  of 
baled  hay  are  brought  by  rail  and  river  from  those  States 
already  embarked  in  the  cultivation  of  grasses.  While  we 
have  the  best  climate  in  the  Uuited  States  for  this  purpose, 
as  already  stated,  we  have  a  soil  unparalleled  for  fertility, 
and  well  suited  to  almost  all  the  varieties  of  grasses  des- 
cribed, and,  besides,  being  on  the  border  of  the  cotton 
States,  we  have  a  market  at  our  doors  for  our  surplus.  We 


240  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

certainly  ought  to  be^'  able  to  compete  with  the  Northern 
States  with  these  advantages ;  and  then,  to  add  to  our  ad- 
vantages, there  is  a  surplus  of  labor  awaiting  our  orders. 
It  is  true,  our  labor  is  not  educated,  but  we  can  supply  that 
defect  by  properly  educating  ourselves  so  as  to  meet  any  of 
of  the  requirements  necessary  to  raise  these  crops.  If  we 
do  this  our  country  will  assume  such  a  charming  appear- 
ance that  it  will  delight  the  eye  of  every  passenger  who 
travels  through  it  on  the  many  lines  of  railroads,  besides  re- 
paying the  owners  all  the  care  bestowed  on  it.  Our  citi- 
zens are  not  so  much  to  blame  for  this  backwardness  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  grasses  as  would  appear  at  first  sight.  The 
routine  established  before  the  war  was  hard  to  break  up, 
but  they  are  now  looking  around  for  some  more  profitable 
method  of  farming.  To  establish  meadows  is  the  part 
of  wisdom.  Just  how  to  do  this  we  propose  to  tell  in  this 
chapter  more  fully  than  in  the  introductory  chapters.  We 
shall  consider: 

1st.  The  preparation  of  meadow  lands. 

2nd.  Selection  of  suitable  seeds  for  sowing  and  method  of 
mixing. 

3rd.  Times  of  sowing  and  the  best  methods  of  securing 
stands. 

4th.  Cutting,  curing  and  storing  the  hay. 

5th.  Improvement  of  meadows. 

6th.  Manures  and  manner  of  their  application. 

In  our  remarks  upon  the  different  grasses,  the  most  of 
the  subjects  have  already,  to  some  extent,  been  noticed,  and 
therefore,  we  will  be  pardoned  if  some  repetition  takes 
place,  but  the  subject  is  of  so  much  importance  that  we  will 
be  justified  by  the  ends  to  be  attained. 

PREPAKATION   OF   MEADOW   IANDS. 

This  is  of  the  utmost  importance  when  we  reflect  that 
any  want  of  attention  to  all  the  details  necessary  to  insure 
success  involves  a  considerable  loss,  not  only  in  money  and 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  241 

labor,  but  also  in  the  length  of  time  required  to  undo  and 
correct  the  error.  God  sows  the  pastures  to  our  hands, 
but  man  must  sow  the  meadows.  A  man  may  think  he  is 
pursuing  the  most  judicious  course  possible,  but  he  may  be 
in  error,  and  an  honest  mistake  does  not  free  the  farmer 
from  loss.  He  must  inform  himself  correctly  on  the  char- 
acter of  the  land  to  be  sown,  and  then,  with  every  facility 
at  his  command,  acquaint  himself  with  the  grasses  best 
adapted  to  its  requirements.  / 

In  the  first  place,  though  many  varieties  of  grass  will 
grow  well  on  moist  land,  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that 
they  will  thrive  best  on  wet  lauds.  When  the  water  stands 
on  the  surface  all  the  year  the  character  of  the  hay  is  nearly 
worthless,  being  full  of  moisture  and  with  but  little  nutri- 
tive principles  in  it.  Consequently  it  is  very  important  to 
have  soils  properly  drained,  if  they  require  it.  It  will 
largely  increase  the  quantity  and  greatly  improve  the 
quality  of  the  crop.  With  the  soil  full  of  moisture  it  be- 
comes sour  and,  though  full  of  fertility,  it  is  unavailable  to 
the  plant.  With  a  wet  soil,  it  is  impossible  to  put  the  land 
in  a  proper  state  of  tilth.  So  all  things  point  to  the  neces- 
sity of  drainage. 

It  may  be  proper  to  state  that  every  piece  of  ground  on 
which  water  will  stand  two  hours  after  a  rain  will  be  bene- 
fitted  by  a  system  of  drainage.  This  seems'  to  the  South- 
erner to  be  such  a  stupendous  undertaking  that  nearly 
every  one  is  discouraged  from  making  the  effort.  When  it 
is  supposed  that  draining  can  only  be  effected  by  ditching 
in  every  direction,  and  laying  great  stretches  of  pipes,  the 
undertaking  does  seem  indeed  to  be  very  costly. 

The  method  of  pipe-laying  is  the  best,  and  as  our  farmers 
see  the  good  effects  of  a  cheaper  method,  they  will  gradu- 
ally, and  by  slow  degrees,  come  to  practice  the  more  sub- 
stantial methods.  A  Northern  land  owner  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  spend  fifty  or  seventy-five  dollars  on  a  single  acre, 
when  he  can  bring  into  cultivation  a  choice  piece  of  bot- 
16 


242  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

torn.  But  the  Hollanders  surpass  every  other  people  on 
earth  in  this  particular.  Nearly^very  foot  of  land  they  own 
has  been  reclaimed  from  the  sea  by  a  system  of  dykes, 
levees  and  ditches.  Their  lands  being  lower  than  the  water 
courses  that  run  through  them,  their  only  resource  is  to  lift 
the  waters  that  are  collected  in  the  ditches  by  means  of 
steam  pumps.  This  is  done,  it  is  true,  at  the  expense  of 
the  public,  but  the  farmers  pay  an  annual  tax  to  keep  ifc  up, 
or  they  would  soon  be  flooded  by  the  accumulating  waters 
that  penetrate  the  soil  from  every  side.  Now,  if  by  this 
practice,  they  are  able  to  give  one  thousand  dollars  per  acre 
for  the  land,  and  pay  annual  drainage  tax  to  an  amount 
equal  to  the  value  of  our  lands,  why  may  we  not  pursue  the 
simple  act  of  putting  our  lands  in  as  good  condition  at  a 
tithe  of  the  cost  of  theirs  ? 

There  are  many  methods  of  draining  land,  but  we  will  con- 
fine ourselves  to  the  method  oi  doing  it  as  effectually  as  the 
Dutch,  but  at  such  an  expense  that  even  a  renter  can  afford 
it,  for  the  increase  of  one  year's  crop.  A  German  gardener 
of  New  York  leased  ten  acres  of  land  that  proved  to  be 
boggy,  and  the  first  three  years  his  crops,  in  spite  of  all  the 
attention  he  could  give  them,  barely  paid  rent  and  support- 
ed him.  He  was  advised  to  try  draining,  and  although  but 
seven  years  were  left  of  his  lease,  he  did  it  at  a  cost  of  $500. 
The  result  fully  justified  the  expense,  for  in  the  remaining 
seven  years  he  made,  over  and  above  all  expenses,  money 
enough  to  pay  $12,000  for  the  farm  he  had  drained.  No 
land  can  produce  well  without  the  aid  of  heat  and  proper 
aeration.  If  the  soil  is  full  of  water  it  will  be  impervious 
to  the  air,  and  the  water  will  also  counteract  the  effects  of 
the  sun's  rays,  and  the  ground  will  be  cold  and  lifeless. 
Without  the  influence  of  heat  and  air  necessary  chemical 
changes  in  the  constituents  of  the  soil  cannot  take  place,  conse- 
quently the  roots  fail  to  find  the  nourishment  they  are  seek- 
ing— they  fail  to  penetrate  the  soil  to  a  sufficient  depth,  and 
instead  of  a  rich  subsoil,  there  will  only  be  surface  soil  to 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  243 

support  vegetation.  That  soon  becomes  exhausted,  and  the 
land  appears  worn  out.  Draining  opens  up  a  mine  of  fer- 
tilizers below,  the  roots  run  quickly  down  to  it,  and  there 
is  no  question  that  the  crops  are  greatly  increased.  There 
is  much  land  in  our  State  that  would  be  greatly  improved 
by  draining.  The  soils  that  will  be  improved  can  be 
ascertained,  during  the  wet  season,  by  digging  a  hole  in  the 
fields  and  watching  the  height  to  which  the  water  rises.  In 
many  places  it  will  remain  almost  on  a  level  nearly  all  win- 
ter; in  others  showing  itself  one,  two  or  three  feet  below 
it.  And  this,  too,  on  rolling  lands  that  are  supposed  to  be 
dry  enough.  Not  only  are  the  wet  lands  made,  dryer,  but 
the  dry  lands  made  wetter.  This  is  effected  by  the  soil  be- 
coming porous,  so  as  to  better  admit  the  moisture  of  rains 
and  dews.  It  is  made  warmer,  and  consequently  frosts  will 
have  less  effect,  there  being  less  moisture  to  freeze  on  the 
surface.  And  besides,  by  being  warmer  the  crops  come  on 
earlier. 

Our  Northern  farmers  practice  almost  exclusively  tile 
draining.  This  is  a  costly  mode,  and  if  it  were  the  only 
way  our  farmers  would  be  frightened  at  once  from  the  ef- 
fort. But  so  thoroughly  is  this  plan  practiced  that  it  is  no 
longer  an  experiment.  Some  counties  in  Ohio  have  spent 
the  public  funds  in  digging  and  draining  the  mains  so  that 
farmers  can  lay  their  drains  into  them".  Wood  county, 
Ohio,  in  1867,  spent  in  one  year  $500,000  in  digging 
mains.  One  drain  was  dug  30  miles  long,  and  six  fe«t 
deep,  while  the  districts  dug  400  miles  more. 

The  Agricultural  College  of  Michigan  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  investigate  the  effects  of  draining.  They  bought 
twenty-five  acres  of  swampy  land,  covered  with  bog-grass 
rushes,  flags  and  other  worthless  vegetation.  They  laid 
about  800  yards  of  tiles  at  an  expense  of  $480,  and  sowed  it 
in  grass.  At  the  first  cutting  the  crop  was  sold  for  $1,570, 
leaving  a  clear  profit,  the  first  year,  over  all  expenses, 
of  $548.70,  and  the  second  year  they  cleared  $975.  This 


244  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

was  on  land  that,  before  draining,  produced  absolutely 
nothing. 

How  many  of  our  Tennessee  acres  are  in  a  condition  to  be 
improved  every  one  can  guess.  We  have  wet  lands  in 
abundance,  not  only  on  our  river  bottoms,  but  also  on  the 
uplandb.  These  lands  are  as  full  of  fertility  as  it  is  possible 
for  lands  to  be,  and  it  only  requires  a  small  outlay  for 
drainage,  to  develope  and  utilize  this  wealth. 

Tiles  can  be  bought  at  any  of  the  seed  stores  at  about  $16 
per  thousand,  and  should  be  put  in  about  three  to  four  feet 
deep,  the  last  depth  being  preferred,  if  there  is  slope 
enough  to  carry  off  the  water.  If  a  branch  of  water  runs 
through  a  meadow  it  can  be  used  as  a  main,  the  side  drains 
running  obliquely  to  it.  The  drains  should  be  constructed 
so  that  water  will  run  down  them,  and  not  stand  in  them. 
The  side  drains  should  be  laid  from  thirty  to  sixty  feet  apart, 
according  to  the  amount  of  water  in  the  soil.  The  cost  is 
from  $50  to  $100  per  acre.  But  this  is  where  the  only 
method  of  ditching  to  plant  the  tiles  is  by  a  spade  at 
twenty  or  thirty  cents  per  yard.  A  much  cheaper,  and 
equally  effective  plan  is  to  select  and  lay  off  the  points  for 
the  ditches,  and  then,  with  a  long,  sharp,  bull-tongue  plow, 
run  several  furrows,  with  two  horses,  to  the  width  desired, 
say  eighteen  inches  or  two  feet,  throw  out  the  loose  soil 
with  shovels  and  then  run  again  with  the  plow  in  the  same 
track.  When  the  ditch  gets  too  deep  for  the  plow,  fasten  a 
chain  to  the  clevis  so  as  to  lengthen  the  distance  from  the 
horses  to  the  plow,  making  the  horses  straddle  the  ditch, 
and  by  continuing  to  lengthen  the  chain  there  will  be 
no  difficulty  in  plowing  to  any  desired  depth.  If  this  plan 
is  pursued  a  ditch  can  be  dug  at  a  very  insignificant  cost, 
and  then  the  tiles  can  be  laid  in  the  bottom  and  the  ditch 
filled  up. 

But  a  drain  can  be  made  in  a  much  cheaper  manner  than 
this.  Should  there  be  plenty  of  surface  rock  near,  lay  one 
on  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  one  on  each  side  of  the  bottom 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  245 

rock,  and  cover  with  a  fourth.  Or  instead  of  using  four 
rocks,  a  very  good  ditch  can  be  made  by  tilting  two  flat 
rocks  to  each  other  so  that  a  transverse  section  will  form  an 
A  shaped  tunnel,  and  if  there  is  a  firm  bed  to  the  ditch  it 
will  last  an  indefinite  length  of  time,  the  water  carrying  off* 
the  loose  crumbs  of  clay. 

Still  another  plan  is  to  use,  instead  of  the  rocks,  poles  of 
any  kind  of  wood,  so  they  are  straight.  Lay  two 
poles,  say  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter,  parallel  to  each 
other,  leaving  a  space  of  six  inches  between  them,  and  then 
lay  another  pole  on  the  centre  space  so  that  its  edges  will 
rest  on  the  other  two,  leaving  an  open  space  five  or  six 
inches  in  diameter.  Then  throw  stubble,  straw,  weeds, 
leaves  or  cornstalks  over  the  poles,  and  indeed  over  the 
rocks  also,  and  there  will  be  a  good  ditch  without  the  out- 
lay of  any  money.  Of  course  the  loose  dirt  will  be  thrown 
over  either  the  rocks  or  logs.  Timber  under  ground  in 
this  way  will  last  a  long  time. 

But  there  is  still  another  plan,  in  case  the  soil  has  any 
descent,  and  there  are  few  lands  in  Tennessee  without  it, 
and  that  is  by  means  of  a  subsoil  plow.  Let  a  stout  sub- 
soil plow  follow  in  the  furrow  of  a  turning  plow,  both  drawn 
by  stout  teams,  and  send  the  subsoiler  at  least  two  feet  deep. 
Let  the  furrows  run  up  and  down  the  hill  so  as  to  give  a 
regular  descent  to  the  water,  and  the  hard  pan  broken  up 
by  the  subsoil  will  carry  off  all  superfluous  water  after 
rains  in  a  very  short  time.  This  process  is  so  effective  that 
it  is  pursued  in  some  sections  to  the  exclusion,  entirely,  of 
regular  draining.  It  will  have  to  be  repeated  at  inter- 
vals of  three  or  four  years,  and  there  will  be  but  little  dis- 
turbance to  the  sod,  as  the  subsoiler  has  only  an  iron  bar  for 
a  helve,  which  raises  the  surface  so  slightly  it  can  easily  be 
pressed  back  with  a  roller. 

It  may  be  truly  said  that  by  this  system,  properly  fol- 
lowed, we  extend  our  acres  perpendicularly  instead  of  later- 
ally, which  is  the  true  theory  of  cultivation.  Man  owns 


246  MANAGEMENT   OF   MEADOWS. 

the  land  from  the  surface  to  the  centre,  but  how  few  ever 
utilize  these  under-ground  acres.  From  all  the  testimony 
to  be  gathered  on  this  subject,  it  is  pretty  apparent  that  the 
cost  of  draining  a  meadow  will  be  paid  the  first  year  by  the 
increased  production  of  the  crop.  The  after-crops  will  be 
profits  of  the  farmer. 

Now,  it  being  understood  the  land  is  in  a  suffi- 
ciently dry  condition,  either  by  draining  or  natur- 
ally, the  next  thing  is  to  put  it  in  a  state  of  tilth. 
After  what  has  been  said  in  regard  to  almost  every  kind  of 
grass,  it  is  almost  needless  to  impress  on  the  mind  of  the 
farmer  the  necessity  of  thoroughly  pulverizing  the  soil. 

Let  it  be  well  and  deeply  broken  up,  and  then  with  the 
harrow,  drag  and  roller  continue  to  work  it  until  it  is 
smooth  and  not  a  clod  appears  on  the  surface.  The  roots 
of  grasses  are  exceedingly  delicate  and  cannot  penetrate  the 
hard,  dry  lumps  of  soil,  but  will  exhaust  their  energies  in 
going  around  or  under  them.  Besides,  in  exactly  the  same 
proportion  as  the  clods  exist,  are  the  nourishing  elements 
locked  up  from  the  use  of  the  grass.  Another  reason:  when 
clods  exist  in  great  numbers,  the  ground  will  be  rough  and 
the  seed  will  not  get  into  the  soil,  or  will  get  in  too  deep  to 
germinate.  Thus  seeds  are  lost  and  the  stand  impaired. 

It  is  needless  to  say  the  soil  must  be  fertile,  for  nothing 
will  thrive  well  on  poor  soil.  If  it  is  not  rich  it  must  be 
made  so.  Should  it  be  desired  to  sow  a  field  that  has  been 
greatly  exhausted,  a  plan  pursued  in  England  is  com- 
mended. The  fall  previous  to  sowing,  the  field  is  put 
in  turnips.  During  the  winter,  by  means  of  hurdles,  a 
flock  of  sheep  is  confined  to  a  portion  of  the  field,  and  they 
are  not  allowed  to  leave  until  every  vestige  of  the  turnips 
is  exhausted.  By  this  time  the  ground  will  be  black  with 
their  droppings.  In  this  manner  the  whole  field,  acre  by 
acre  is  gone  over  and  the  ground  has  a  fine  covering  of  ma- 
nure. We  will  suppose  this  consumes  the  winter.  In  the 
spring  break  up,  or  to  break  up  just  as  soon  as  the  sheep 


MANAGEMENT   OF   MEADOWS.  247 

are  removed  is  better,  and  sow  with  peas.  When  this  crop 
is  in  full  bearing  let  on  both  hogs  and  sheep,  and  it  will 
amply  repay  all  its  preparation  by  the  manner  in  which  the 
stock  will  thrive,  and  they  will  again  bestow  on  it  a  cover- 
ering  of  fine  manure.  Now  the  ground  is  well  manured 
and  fully  capable  of  giving,  in  return  for  the  care  bestowed, 
a  bountiful  crop  the  first  year.  Of  course  it  must  be  again 
broken  and  pulverized  as  before  mentioned.  This  not  only 
pays  better  than  letting  it  lie  in  fallow,  but  it  keeps  down 
weeds.  When  ground  is  fallowed,  there  will  be  generally 
an  interval  of  neglect,  and  the  weeds,  ever  watchful  for  a 
chance,  will  spring  up,  mature  their  seeds  and  sow  them,  to 
the  trouble  and  vexation  of  the  farmer  afterward. 

SELECTION    OF    SUITABLE    SEEDS    AND    BEST    METHOD    OF 
MIXING    THEM. 

Whatever  the  character  of  the  soil  to  be  converted  into 
a  meadow,  a  suitable  grass  will  be  found  in  our  list.  There 
are  grasses  for  rocky  land,  sandy  land,  bottom  land,  upland, 
or  calcareous  land,  and  we  cannot  do  better  than  to  refer 
the  reader  to  the  large  list  from  which  to  select,  as  the  kind 
of  land  to  which  they  are  adapted  is  clearly  shown  in  each 
descriptive  article. 

It  is  well  known  to  every  farmer  that  some  grasses  will 
not  thrive  on  certain  characters  of  soil.  What  grasses  to 
sow  must  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  farmer,  as  only 
an  extended  experience  will  be  able  to  show  under  every 
circumstance  the  peculiarities  of  the  land  to  be  sown.  Un- 
der certain  conditions,  too,  it  may  be  preferable  to  put  the 
land  down  in  clover,  whatever  kind  of  soil  it  may  be,  espe- 
cially is  this  the  case  where  the  land  from  long  cultivation 
is  not  in  good  heart.  It  must  be  remembered  that,  if  a 
field  has,  by  long-continued  cultivation,  without  rotation, 
been  so  reduced  in  fertility  that  it  will  not  produce  re- 
munerative crops,  it  will  not  produce  any  kind  of  grass  in 
paying  quantities,  until  some  of  its  vitality  has  been  re.' 


248  MANAGEMENT   OF    MEADOWS. 

stored.  If  a  farmer  fattens  stock  from  the  produce  of  his 
farm,  it  follows  that  whatever  goes  to  produce  bone,  mus- 
cle, and  blood,  is  so  much  substance  taken  from  the  soil 
and  restitution  is  demanded. 

When  the  earth  is  covered  with  grasses,  and  they  are 
plowed  under,  and  converted  into  vegetable  mould,  not 
only  does  the  land  receive  what  has  been  taken  from  it, 
but  there  is  added,  a  vast  amount  of  substances  extracted 
from  the  atmosphere,  such  as  carbon,  ammonia,  nitrogen 
and  oxygen,  and  in  that  way  the  land  is  constantly  im- 
proved. It  is  in  this  way  that  nature  renews  herself,  and 
a  piece  of  land  left  to  her  care,  will,  after  the  lapse  of  a 
few  years,  regain  its  lost  fertility.  But  the  necessities  of 
man  are  such  he  cannot  await  this  slow  process,  and  there- 
fore, it  is  that  he  must,  to  bring  about  the  same  result 
sooner,  resort  to  the  expedient  of  plowing  in  green 
crops.  Various  kinds  of  green  manuring  crops  are  used 
for  this  purpose.  In  the  selection  of  a  crop  to  plow  under, 
one  thing  should  be  kept  prominently  in  view,  and  that  is 
select  such  crops  as  derive  their  nourishment  in  great  part 
from  the  air.  It  has  been  demonstrated  by  many  experi- 
ments that  the  Legumins  do  this  more  effectually  than 
any  other  class.  Among  these  none  are  so  effectual 
as  the  different  kinds  of  clover.  They  not  only  enrich 
the  land  by  the  great  mass  of  foliage  and  stems,  but 
also  by  their  penetrating  roots,  that  by  their  mechanical 
displacement  of  the  soil,  loosen  and  pulverize  it.  Next  to 
the  clovers  are  peas.  They,  it  is  true,  do  not  have  the  same 
extensive  system  of  roots,  but,  if  possible,  they  grow  and 
exist  more  from  atmospheric  influences  than  any  other 
plant.  They  will  thrive  and  make  good  crops  on  poorer 
soils  than  any  other  kind  of  vegetation ;  and  if  a  year  or 
two  is  spent  in  sowing  in  peas  and  plowing  the  crop  under 
the  soil  will  be  made  fertile  enough  to  receive  a  permanent 
coat  of  grass,  for  we  know  that  the  atmosphere  is  full  of 
those  elements  so  essential  to  vegetation.  Man  can  only 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  249 

avail  himself  of  these  fertilizing  qualities  by  the  aid  of  such 
substances  as  embody  them  in  their  own  growth.  In  this 
way  he  is  able  to  secure  them  and  place  them  back  in  the  soil. 

After  the  selection  of  the  kinds  of  grass  to  be  sown  the 
next  consideration  is  to  select  good  seed.  How  often  has  it 
occurred  to  every  farmer  to  see  the  result  of  all  his  toil  and 
expense  culminate  in  failure  for  want  of  good  seed!  It  does 
not  always  occur  to  the  sower  that  his  seeds  are  defective 
through  age,  or  through  mixing  noxious  seeds  with  the 
grass  seeds.  The  high  price  that  seeds  command  is  a  great 
temptation  to  the  dishonest  dealer.  Sometimes  it  happens 
that  good  seeds  are  kept  until  they  have  lost  their  power  of 
germinating.  If  it  be  possible,  it  is  far  better  to  save  seed 
from  the  farm  itself.  It  involves  but  little  care  to  do  so> 
and  is  an  actual  saving  to  the  farmer,  and  then  he  knows 
what  he  is  sowing.  Should  it  be  necessary,  however,  to  buy 
seeds,  always  delay  a  few  days  to  test  them.  This  is  easily 
done  by  placing  a  certain  ascertained  number  on  a  wet  cloth, 
folded  several  times  to  retain  moisture,  and  covering  them 
over  with  a  single  thickness  of  the  same.  Keep  the  cloth 
damp  a  few  days  and  the  good  ones  will  swell  up  and 
sprout  while  the  defective  ones  will  be  covered  over  with 
mould.  Count  the  sprouts,  and  by  an  easy  computation, 
one  can  then  ascertain  the  proportion  of  good  seeds.  Then 
sow  in  the  proportion  and  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in 
securing  a  stand.  The  wisdom  of  this  precaution  may  be 
known  when  it  is  stated  that  nearly  all  the  grass  seeds  are 
worthless  at  the  end  of  three  years,  only  a  small  proportion 
of  them  germinating.  Even  clover  seeds  that  will  keep 
their  vitality  when  in  the  ground,  and  covered  up,  will 
lose  this  vitality  in  four  or  five  years,  if  exposed  to  the 
atmosphere.  The  millets  are  scarcely  worth  sowing  after 
the  second  year.  The  selection  of  the  species  being  deter- 
mined on,  the  next  consideration  is  the  propriety  of  mixing 
or  sowing  alone,  and  in  this  connection,  the  best  argument 
in  favor  of  mixing  should  be  taken  from  nature. 


250  MANAGEMENT   OF    MEADOWS. 

No  pasture,  however  luxuriant,  is  found  to  consist  of  one 
grass  alone.  In  all  meadows  sown  alone,  there  will  be 
found  naked  spots,  and  these  seem  to  depend  upon  some 
incompatibility  of  the  soil,  at  that  point,  with  the  grass 
sown.  These  spots  would  be  occupied  possibly  by  other 
species  if  sown,  and  thus  the  whole  surface  would  be  cov- 
ered. Some  grasses  are  disposed  to  turf  the  ground  while 
others  form  tussocks,  therefore  it  is  best  to  mix,  if  sowing 
a  tussock  grass,  a  grass  that  will  turf  well.  Some  grasses 
have  a  heavy  under-growth  of  surface  foliage  while  others 
have  this  sparingly.  These  two"  peculiarities  would  be 
done  away  with  if  the  two  were  combined. 

It  is  not,  however,  proper  to  combine  the  pasture  grasses 
with  the  meadow  grasses.  As  a  rule  the  former  have  creep- 
ing roots  and  are  more  vigorous  than  the  latter,  and  they 
would  soon  overpower  them  and  destroy  the  meadow.  This, 
of  course,  is  spoken  in  reference  to  the  perennial  pasture 
grasses. 

Another  condition  of  mixing  is  the  number  to  be  com- 
bined. As  a  rule,  it  is  beyond  question,  that  a  meadow 
sown  with  a  variety  of  seeds  will  do  better  and  make  more 
hay  than  when  one  kind  is  used.  It  is  no  easy  matter  to 
explain  why,  but  nature  does  it,  and  she  rarely  errs  in  her 
primitive  growth.  To  show  the  variety  of  growth  on  a 
piece  of  natural  meadow,  the  following  table  is  given,  which 
was  made  from  a  careful  count  by  Mr.  Sinclair.  It  shows 
that  the  greater  the  number  of  species,  the  greater  the  num- 
ber of  plants  to  the  square  foot,  and  where  the  species  are 
reduced  the  number  of  plants  also  decrease.  The  soil 
should  be  supplied  with  seed  enough  to  suit  every  constitu- 
ent in  it,  and  then  if  one  fails  another  may  answer  the  pur- 
pose, and  the  difference  in  cost  of  a  few  seed  is  but  a  small 
part  to  the  value  of  a  good  meadow. 


MANAGEMENT   OF    MEADOWS. 


251 


AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  PLANTS  AND  SPECIES  TO  THE  SQUARE 
FOOT  OF   SWARD. 


OHAEAOTEE  OF  THE  TUEF. 

Whole  number 
of  Plants  on  the 
square  foot. 

Natural 

grasses. 

*1 
^  ? 

,2  ° 
o 

Distinct 
species. 

1,  A  square  foot  taken  from  the  richest  nat- 
ural pasture  capable  of  fattening  one  large  ox  or 
three  sheep  to  the  acre  was  found  to  contain  .... 
2.  Rich  old  pasture  capable  of  fattening  one 
large  ox  and  three  sheep  per  acre  

1000, 
1090 

940 
1032 

60 

58 

2    Another  old  pasture  contained 

910 

880 

30 

12 

4.  An  old  pasture  of  a  damp,  moist  and  mossy 
surface  .  .  .  

684 

510 

8 

5.  A  good  pasture,  two  years  old,  laid  down 
to  rve  grass  and  white  clover 

470 

453 

18 

6,  A  sod  of  narrow  leaved  meadow  grass  (Poa 
angustifolia)  6  years  old  

192 

1 

7.  A  sod  of  meadow  foxtail  by  itself  6  years 
old  .  .  .  .*. 

80 

1 

8.  Rye  grass  by  itself  6  years  old  

75 

1 

9.  Meadow  irrigated  and  carefully  managed  .  . 

1798 

1702 

96 

It  will  be  seen  by  this  table  that  numbers  1,  2  and  9 
have  more  varieties  of  grasses  than  any  others,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  table,  are  more  thickly  covered  with  plants. 

A  custom  prevails  among  the  grass  farmers  of  the  North 
and  East  to  mix  a  great  number  together — some  having 
as  many  as  a  dozen  different  kinds  on  one  meadow.  In 
this  way  those  vacant  spots  we  have  spoken  of  will  be  filled 
up  with  selected  seeds,  instead  of  seeds  of  an  inferior  or 
noxious  sort.  The  ground  will  be  covered,  and  it  is  better 
to  select  the  best  varieties.  The  more  especially  is  this  the 
case,  when  it  is  expected,  as  most  farmers  will  do,  to  pas- 
ture, to  some  extent  the  meadow,  or  when  it  is  wished  to 
train  it  as  a  meadow  a  few  years,  and  ultimately  let  it  pass 
into  a  grazing  lot.  It  is  quite  a  common  custom  in  this 
State  to  mix  clover  and  orchard  grass,  or  clover  and  herds 
grass,  or  clover  and  timothy,  and  sometimes  timothy  and 
herds  grass  are  mixed,  and  this  is  about  the  extent  of  mix- 
ing done. 


252  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

In  the  great  meadows  of  the  North  Western  and  New 
England  States  where  grass  culture  has  been  practiced  for 
years  it  has  been  demonstrated  often  that  the  admixture  of 
several  varieties  increases  many  fold  the  yield  of  grass,  even 
if  not  wanted  for  pasturage.  It  secures  an  early  stand,  and 
if  the  ground  fails  to  suit  one  species  another  will  nourish, 
and  thus,  all  vacant  spots  are  covered.  These  spots  of 
even  an  inch  or  two  may  seem  insignificant,  but  when  they 
are  multiplied  all  over  a  large  field  they  will  materially 
affect  the  yield.  The  crop  is  made  up  of  single  stalks,  and 
every  stem  is  of  importance  in  the  aggregation. 

While  we  have  the  best  evidence  of  the  good  effects  of 
sowing  several  varieties  together,  it  is  strange  that  farmers 
of  enlarged  and  intelligent  experience  will  persist  in  putting 
down  only  one  kind,  unless  it  be  to  save  seed.  No  man 
who  has  gone  over  a  timothy  or  orchard  grass  meadow  can 
Lelp  but  notice  the  many  vacancies  that  could  be  filled. 
These  often  occur  from  freezes,  the  heat  of  the  sun,  birds, 
defective  seed  and  incompatibility  of  soils.  This  would 
certainly  not  be  the  case  if  attention  was  directed  to  its  pre- 
vention. Nature  sets  the  example,  and  as  a  rule  she  is 
found  to  be  the  most  trustworthy  teacher. 

It  is  sometimes  the  case  that  the  land  is  exactly  suited  to 
timothy,  herds  grass  or  clover,  and  by  sowing  these  to- 
gether, or  even  separate,  we  succeed  in  covering  the  ground* 
but  this  is  rarely  found  to  be  the  case. 

It  should  be  kept  in  mind  in  the  selection  of  seeds  to 
put  those  together  that  will  blossom  at  the  same  time,  unless 
it  is  intended  for  a  pasture,  in  which  case  the  reverse  should 
be  considered,  for  then  it  is  best  to  so  arrange  it  so  as  to  have 
a  succession  of  ripening  crops,  and  the  stock  can  be  sup- 
plied throughout  the  year  with  such  grasses  as  will  be 
young,  tender  and  succulent.  But  in  the  case  of  meadows 
it  is  desirable  only  to  have  such  as  will  ripen  together,  as 
otherwise  those  cut  too  green  will  lose  greatly  by  shrinkage. 
Another  care  to  be  thought  of,  is  to  put  down  grasses  as 
nearly  alike  as  possible  as  regards  the  aftermath. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  253 

Some  require  or  are  improved  by  the  tramping  of  stock. 
If  left  to  themselves  they  have  a  tendency  to  tuft  or  spring 
out  of  the  soil  until  their  roots  are  exposed,  when  they  fall 
a  prey  to  the  sun  or  to  the  freezes.  These  tufts  or  tussocks, 
as  they  are  also  called,  will  leave  at  least  half  the  ground 
bare,  and  thus,  also,  much  oi  the  hay  is  lost.  But  if  tramped 
by  stock  the  grass  is  pressed  back  into  the  soil  and  a  turf  is 
kept  up  that  covers  the  whole  surface. 

Some  of  the  grasses,  however,  as  timothy,  do  not  require 
and  will  not  bear  grazing,  for  various  reasons.  These  grasses 
ought  not  to  be  mixed  with  those  that  are  benefited  by  tim- 
othy, and  should  such  be  disposed  to  tuft,  the  use  of  a  heavy 
roller  is  the  only  remedy,  and  the  vacant  spaces  can  easily 
be  reset  by  sowing  seeds  of  the  same  or  other  varieties  on 
them,  and  then  giving  them  a  light  coat  of  manure. 

It  may  be  assumed  that  in  nearly  all  meadows  or  pastures 
olover  should  be  a  constituent.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  se- 
cure a  stand  of  it.  The  clover  will,  in  the  course  of  two  or 
three  years,  disappear  from  the  meadow,  leaving  the  grass 
in  possession  of  the  ground.  But  it  has  not  left  without  a 
blessing,  for  it  has  reached  up  into  the  air  with  its  long 
arms  and  drawn  down  great  stores  of  ammonia,  nitrogen, 
carbonic  acid,  and  other  valuable  elements  that  grass  re- 
quires, and  has  pushed  them  down  into  the  soil;  while  on 
the  other  hand,  it  has  pumped  up  immense  quantities  of 
potash  and  other  salts  that  are,  in  their  natural  state  insolu- 
ble, and  not  available  to  the  grasses,  and  when  it  dies,  it 
bequeaths  these  valuable  manures  to  its  successors.  Nor  is 
this  all.  Its  long  roots  permeate  the  ground  to  a  prodigious 
dopth,  for  so  humble  a  plant,  and  when  the  roots  decay  the 
soil  is  so  honey-combed  that  rains  penetrate  to  the  sub- 
soil easily  and  the  grass  roots  follows  to  a  much  greater 
depth  than  they  could  otherwise  attain.  And  while  all 
these  services  are  being  rendered  the  ciover  is  giving  to  its 
owner  large  yields  of  the  best  of  hay.  What  a  faithful  ser- 
vant is  this  plant ! 


254  MANAGEMENT   OF    MEADOWS. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  subject  of  the  proportions  in 
which  seeds  should  be  mixed,  we  will  give  a  table  prepared 
by  the  Messrs.  Lawson,  of  Edinburgh,  the  celebrated  seeds- 
men, who  have  demonstrated  the  truth  of  its  statements  by 
actual  experiments.  It  contains  the  weight  of  seeds  per 
bushels,  the  number  of  seeds  in  a  bushel,  the  depth  of  soil 
in  inches  and  fractions  of  an  inch,  at  which  the  greatest 
number  of  seeds  will  germinate,  the  depth  of  soil  in  inches 
and  fractions  of  an  inch  at  which  no  seeds  will  germinate, 
the  depth  of  soil  at  which  half  the  seeds  will  germinate, 
and  the  average  per  cent,  of  loss  in  the  weight  of  grass  in 
drying,  when  cut  at  time  of  flowering.  One  thing  is  to  be 
remarked,  and  it  of  the  utmost  importance  too,  and  that  is, 
seeds  are  much  lighter  when  dry  or  old,  than  when  fresh, 
and  therefore,  it  is  better  to  make  a  calculation  by  pounds 
rather  than  by  measure,  as  in  the  case  of  old,  light  seeds, 
more  of  them  by  number  would  be  sown,  and  a  bettey 
chance  for  a  stand  be  given  in  the  increased  number,  and 
thus  an  allowance  be  given  for  defective  seeds. 


MANAGEMENT   OF   MEADOWS. 


255 


NAMES  OF  GRASSESS. 

c3 

.s 

1 

° 

O 
* 

11  ! 
fl 

Average  No.  of  seeds  in  an 
ounce. 

Depth  of  soil  in  inches  and 
fractions  of  an  inch  at 
which  the  greatest  No. 
of  seeds  will  germinate. 

De^tlTof  soil  in  inches  and 
fractions  of  an  inc  i  at 
which  only  half  the  seeds 
will  germinate. 

Depth  of  soil  in  inches  and 
fractions  of  an  inch  at 
which  none  of  the  seeds 
will  germinate. 

Average  percentage  of  loss 
in  the  weight  of  grass 
when  dry,  cut  in  time 
of  blossoming. 

White  Top  ' 
Red  Top,  Herds  Grass  .  .  . 
Tufted  Hair  Grass  . 

13     i 
12 
14 
5 
6 
7 
10 
26 
12 
10 
14 
14 
14 
15 
10 
13 
15 
7 
15 
18to30 
25 
48 
44 
15 
13 
15 
15 

5* 
64 
64 
65 
60 
26 

500.000 
425.  000  1 
132.000 
76.000 
71.000 
21.000 
15.500 
28.000 
40.000 
39.000 
20.500 
64.000 
26.000 
24.700 
39.000 
58.000 
33.000 
95.000 
27.000 
15.000 
80.000 
42.000 
74.000 
173.000 
243  .  000 
217.000 
10.000 
118.000 
16.000 
16.000 
32.000 
12.000 
10.280 

0  to  ^ 

0  to  J 
0  to  i 
0  to  | 

ito  * 

u  to  1 

0  to  i 
0  to  i 
0  to  J 
0  to  i 
0  to  ^ 

i  to  i 

i  to  i 
0  to  i 
i  to  f 
i  to  * 

0  to  J 

0  to  £ 
*  to  1 
0  to  i 
0  to  i 
0  to  i 
0  to  i 

|  to  1 

*to    | 

£to  1 
1  to  li 
1  toli 
litol* 

*to  i 

f  to  1 
f  to  1 
1  to  1J 
f  to  1 
f  to  1 

f  to  1 

f  to  1 
1  to  1£ 
Htou 
Itoli 

f  to  1 

ito  | 
litolf 
|to  1 
litol* 
litolj 
tto    | 

2to2| 

1 

2i 

H 

2 
4 

2 

aj 
a* 

2f 
2 

2| 
21 

s* 

8* 

3i 
2f 

2 

11 

4 
2 
2 
2 

H 

4}    , 

.65 
.63 
.63 

.57 
,45 

.29 

.52 

.65 

.60 

.30 
.35 

.73 

.50 
.38 
.32 
.50 
.5* 
.57 
.72 

Meadow  Foxtail  

Sweet  Scented  Vernal.  .  . 
Tall  Oat  Grass 

Slender  Wheat  Grass.  .  .  . 
Crested  Dogs  tail  

Orchard  Grass  . 

Hard  Fescue. 

Tall  Fescue  

Sheep's  Fescue 

Meadow  Fescue   . 

Slender-  Spike  Fescue 
Red  Fescue  

Red  Meadow  Grass.. 

Common  Manna  Gras*.  .  . 
Meaidow  Soft  Grass  
Ital  an  Rye  Grass 

Per'-nnial  Rye  Grass.  .  .  . 
Millet  Grass  

Ree<i  Canary  Grass  
Timothy    

Wood  Meadow  Grass   .  .  . 
Blue  Grass 

Rough  Stalk  Meadow.  .  . 
Beach  Grass  .. 

Yel  ow  Oat  Grass  

Red  Clover  

Perennial  Clover.  . 

White  Clover  

Lucerne  . 

Sainf  ain  

This  table,  though  a  partial  repetition  of  the  table  on  page 
33,  will  be  found  to  contain  some  information  which  that 
does  not,  and  that  some  which  this  does  not. 

In  these  experiments  the  soil  used  was  under  the  im- 
mediate supervision  of  the  gentlemen  and,  it  is  supposed, 
it  was  kept  moist,  so  that  an  unusual  number  of  the  seeds 


256  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

germinated.     This  would  not  be  the  case  in  the  soil  where, 
as  the  German  adage  has  it — 

"One  seed  is  sown  for  yourself, 
One  seed  sown  for  the  Devil, 
One  seed  sown  for  the  birds, 
And  one  for  the  stranger." 

There  will  be,  with  the  ordinary  plan  of  sowing,  a  dif- 
ference of  depth  of  covering,  some  below  the  point  of  ger- 
mination, some  where  only  one-half  come  up,  some  on  the 
surface,  and  these  last  are  exposed  to  frosts,  sun  and  birds. 
Besides,  practically,  it^is  impossible  to  get  sound  seeds 
throughout  a  whole  purchase. 

In  one  acre  of  ground  there  are  6,128,640  square  inches. 
In  the  table  given,  it  will  be  seen  there  are  in  a  square  foot 
of  a  rich  old  pasture  1,000  plants,  or  on  an  average,  of 
about  seven  plants  to  the  square  inch.  Now,  to  make  due 
allowances  for  all  the  mishaps  of  seeds,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  put  on  the  ground  not  less  than  60,000,000  seeds  to 
secure  seven  plants  to  the  square  inch,  for  the  number  of 
square  inches  multiplied  by  seven,  will  make  to  the  acre 
43,908,480  plants.  Some  will  say  that  if  too  many  seeds 
are  sown  they  will  choke  each  other.  That  is  precisely  the 
case,  and  that  is  why  it  may  not  be  feared  to  do  so,  for 
after  all  the  choking  is  finished,  enough  are  lift  to  cover  the 
ground,  and  the  object  in  view  is  obtained.  Sinclair,  one 
of  the  most  trustworthy  agricultural  writers,  says  on  the 
point  of  overseeding:  "When  an  excess  of  grass  seed  is 
sown,  the  seed,  in  general,  all  vegetate ;  but  the  plants 
make  but  little,  if  any  progress,  until,  from  want  of  nour- 
ishment to  the  roots,  and  the  confined  space  for  the  growth 
of  foliage,  a  certain  number  decays  and  gives  the  requisite 
room  to  the  proper  number  of  plants;  and  that  will  be  ac- 
cording as  there  are  a  greater  or  less  variety  of  different 
species  of  grasses  combined  in  the  sward." 

Such  a  mixture  should  be  made  in  the  sowings  as  if  one 
species  fail  another  will  take  hold.  Nor  is  it  proper  to  sow 


MANAGEMENT  OF    MEADOWS. 


257 


the  same  quantities  on  the  different  soils  of  the  State.  On 
rich  bottoms  there  will  be  a  necessity  for  using  a  free  hand, 
while  on  the  sandy  uplands  we  must  withhold  the  quantity. 
It  may  be  wished  to  pasture  alternate  years,  or  after  the 
lapse  of  a  few  years  altogether.  All  these  reasons  will 
modify  the  quantity  of  seeds  to  be  sown.  If  a  very  early 
crop  is  wanted,  such  should  be  selected  as  come  in  early,  or 
if  a  succession  of  crops  be  desired,  it  will  be  an  easy  mat- 
ter to  take  from  our  list  those  that  will  ripen,  or  rather 
blossom,  one  after  another  to  the  latest,  thus  enabling  the 
farmer  to  save  all  his  hay  in  good  time.  This  custom  pre- 
vails to  some  extent  in  Ireland  to  sow  the  same  quantity  of 
seed  to  an  acre  of  each  kind  as  though  no  other  sorts  were 
to  be  sown,  and  enough  of  each  kind  to  fully  seed  the  land. 
We  do  not  desire  to  dictate  to  any  one,  but  we  append 
some  lists  that  have  been  tried  together  and  have  succeeded, 
as  well  as  some,  that  from  our  knowledge,  will  make  good 
varieties  for  that  purpose.  Of  course  these  lists  can  be 
varied  according  to  one's  own  taste  or  experience. 


FIRST— LIST  OF  SEEDS  TO  BE  SOWN  TOGETHER  FOR  MEA- 
DOW LANDS. 


';•*- 

a,  ** 

LAWSON'S  MIXTURE. 

. 

§1 

o3 

t^-g 

w 

03    § 

^  a 

8 

fc 

£-1  § 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Herds  Grass  

3 

3 

Italian  Rye  Grass  

6 

6 

Perennial  Rye  Grass  

3 

3 

Orchard  Grass  

4 

6 

Timothy  

9 

Red  Clover  

3 

4 

Perennial  Clover  

2 

White  Clover  

2 

4 

37 

87 

17 


258 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 


Q 

0    * 

§  2 

SECOND  —  FLINT'S  MIXTURE  FOR  SAME  PURPOSE. 

0? 

0   3 

W 

£  & 

hi 

£ 

11 

Ibs. 

Ibs- 

Herds  Grass  

2 

2 

Italian  Rye  Grass  

3 

4 

Perennial  Rye  Grass  

3 

3 

Orchard  Grass  

8 

Timothy  

11 

9 

Rough  Stalk  Meadow  

2 

Meadow   Fescue  . 

2 

3 

Meadow  Foxtail  

2 

Red  Clover  

8 

4 

Perennial  Clover  

2 

White  Clover  

2 

4 

37 


43 


THIRD — MIXTURE  FOR   ORCHARDS   OR   SHADED  PLACES, 


II 


Orchard  Grass 

Hard  Fescue 

Tall  Fescue 

Italian  tiye  Grass 

Perennial  Rye  Grass 

Timothy 

Herds  Grass 

Wood  Meadow  Grass 

Rough  Stalk  Meadow  Grass , 

Blue  Grass 

Perennial  Red  Clover 

White  Clover. . . 


Ibs. 
6 
2 
2 
3 
3 
6 
3 
4 
2 
4 
3 
4 

42 


MANAGEMENT   OF   MEADOWS. 


259 


FOURTH  —  MIXTURE  FOR  LIGHT  LANDS. 

o  ® 

it 
11 

Ibs. 
4 

Blue  Grass                                          .  .            ....               ..... 

3 

3 

Tall  Oat  Grass  

3 

Meadow  —  Soft  Grass.             .           .                        .... 

3 

3 

Italian  Rye  Grass  

4 

Red  Fescue 

2 

Perennial  Rye  Grass  

6 

English  Bent  

2 

Crested  Dogs  Tail  

1 

Perennial  Red  Clover  

3 

Black  Medic  

2 

White  Clover  

4 

Sainf  ain     

2 

45 

FIFTH  —  RECLAIMED  OR  SWAMP  LANDS. 


Florin 

Herds  Grass 

Hard  Fescue 

Meado^   Foxtail 

Meadow  Fescue 

Fowl  Meadow 

Italian  Rye  Grass 

Perennial  Rye  Grass 

Reed  Canary  Grass 

Timothy 

Rough  Stalk  Meadow  Grass . 

Black  Medic 

Red  Clover 

White  Clover- . . 


11 


Ibs. 
2 
2 
3 
2 
2 
4 
4 
5 
4 
6 
3 
2 
4 
4 

~47~ 


260  MANAGEMENT  OF   MEADOWS. 


SIXTH — FOE  TENNESSEE  BOTTOM  LANDS. 


Timothy 

Herds  Grass 

Red  Clover 

Italian  Rye  Grass 

Tall  Oat  Grass 

Orchard  Grass 

Rough    Stalk    Meadow. 
Meadow  Fescue  .... 


SEVENTH — SWAMPY  LANDS  SUBJECT  TO  OVERFLOW. 


English  Bent 

Tall  Fescue 

Slender  Fescue 

Canary  Grass 

Timothy 

Herds  Grass 

Rough  Stalk  Meadow 
Fowl  Meadow  Grass.. , 
Red  Clover • 


MANAGEMENT   OF    MEADOWS.'  261 


EIGHTH  —  MIXTUEE  FOR  ROCKY  OR  GRAVELLY  HILLS. 

II 
it 

O    rj 

^.    £3 

Herds  Grass  ...                                                    ...        

Ibe. 
3 

Tall  Oat  Grass  

3 

Crested  Dogs  Tail                                                                       .... 

3 

Orchard  Grass                       .        .        

3 

Red  Fescue  

4 

M  eado  »v  Soft  Grass                                                                   

2 

Perennial  Rye  Grass  .                                            

6 

Timothy  •  .... 

6 

Wood  Meadow  Grass                                                       . 

3 

Blue  Grass     ....          

2 

Rough  Stalk  Meadow  ,  

2 

Black  Medic  

3 

Red  Clover  

8 

48 

1  § 

tij 

<0 

NINTH  —  MIXTURE  FOR  DRY  GRAVELLY  L'ANDS. 

a 

a| 

11 

Ibs. 

Red  Top  

3 

Sweet  Scented  Vernal  

2 

Tall  Oat  Grass        

$ 

Sheep's  Fescue  

4 

Red  Fescue                                     ... 

4 

Meadow  Soft  Grass  

4 

Creeping  Soft  Grass  

4 

Perennia  Rye  Grass..                   .        

5 

Blue  Grass         

4 

Red  Clover                                      .               .               ... 

'  5 

43 

262  MANAGEMENT  OF   MEADOWS. 


TENTH — MIXTUJBE  FOE  OLD  WOEN  FIELDS. 


Ibfl. 

Means,   or  Egyptian  Sugar  Corn 5 

Timothy 8 

Bough  Stalk  Meadow  Grass 5 

Italian  Rye  Grass. 

Tall  Red-Top 6 

Orchard  Grass 8 

Red  Clover. 

42 


Ijj 


I 
ELEVENTH— MIXTURE  FOR  HAT  AND  TO  RUN  IKTO  PASTURE. 


OS 

En  § 

Ibs. 

Orchard  Grass 8 

Herds  Grass (5 

Tall  Oat  Grass 3 

Italian  Rye  Grass 4 

Blue  Grass 4 

Red  Clover 8 

34 


MANAGEMENT   OF   MEADOWS.  263 


fl  o> 

TWELFTH  —  FOE  WORN  FIELDS  WITH  GULLIES. 

°£ 
&a 

s  a 

0*2 

£  § 

Ibs. 

Blue  Grass                                  

4 

Orchard  Grass  

4 

Gamma  Grass 

1    peck    rootfc 

Bermuda  Grass  .          .                

1    peck    roots 

Egyptian  Sugar  Corn  or  Means  

i  bushel  roots 

Red  Clover  .                 .... 

8 

These  twelve  mixtures,  mostly  adopted  from  Dr.  Flint's 
work,  with  alterations  to  suit  climate  and  soil  will,  as  a 
rule,  meet  the  demands  of  almost  every  variety  of  land 
in  Tennessee.  Of  course  any  variation  may  be  made  in 
either  the  species  or  in  the  proportions,  according  to  the 
fancy,  bearing  in  mind  the  general  amount  of  seed  used 
in  the  above  mixtures. 

The  first  mixture,  or  Lawson's,  is  prepared  for  Scotland, 
and  we  were  induced  to  engraft  both  that  an  JKhe  Nos.  2,  3,  4, 
5,  8  and  9,  which  were  arranged  for  a  higher  latitude,  from 
the  fact  that  much  land  in  the  State  of  Tennessee  lies  at  so 
high  an  elevation  that  it  is  equivalent  to  a  lower  tempera- 
ture. For  instance,  in  East  Tennessee,  we  find  grasses  on 
the  higher  mountains,  that  are  only  found  on  the  crests  of 
the  White  Mountains  in  New  Hampshire.  So,  in  descending 
the  mountains,  and  even  in  the  higher  valleys,  these  grass- 
es are  in  a  flourishing  condition,  that  will  not  grow  at  all,  or 
very  imperfectly,  on*  the  water  courses  of  Middle  Tennessee. 
In  a  visit  to  the  Unaka  Mountains,  last  September,  in  com- 
pany with  some  members  of  the  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science  we  saw  some  grasses  growing  in  great  lux- 
uriance on  the  "Balds"  of  that  range,  and  on  the  top  of  th« 
Roane  Mountain  that  we  had  never  seen  elsewhere,  but 
Prof.  Chickering,  of  Washington  City,  recognized  them  as 
similar  to  those  seen  on  Mt.  Washington  and  in  Canada. 


264  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

There  were  Poa  annua,  the  spear  grass  of  Maine,  but  com- 
mon on  low  lands  in  the  State;  Agrostis  perennans,  or  Thin 
grass,  a  plant  peculiar  to  marshy  places  ;  Phleum  alpin- 
um,  Carex  juncea,  a  rush-looking  sedge,  or  rather  a  grass- 
like  sedge;  Aira  flexuosa,  or  wood  hair  grass,  an  ornamental 
grass  of  the  Northern  latitudes ;  Danthonia  compressa,  or 
wild  oat  grass,  and  Trisetum  molle,  or  downy  persoon.  Be- 
sides these  were  many  others  not  determined  by  any  of  the 
botanists  in  the  company.  These  grasses  afford  an  immense 
pasturage  during  the  summer  to  vast  herds  of  cattle  that  are 
driven  by  the  citizens  for  miles  around  to  summer  on  them. 
Gen.  Wilder,  who  owns  a  large  section  of  land  there,  in- 
formed us  the  grass,  when  enclosed  from  the  stock,  grew  to 
the  hight  of  four  feet.  Very  many  varieties  existed,  all 
growing  promiscuously  together.  This  goes  far  to  show 
the  great  difference  of  the  development  of  the  species  in 
different  localities,  for  at  lower  .altitudes,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Carex  juncea  these  grasses  grow  quite  low. 

We  think  the  lists  given  are  sufficiently  large  to  embrace 
almost  every  wAt  of  a  grass  grower  in  Tennessee.  We  di- 
rect special  attention  to  No.  12  for  use  on  some  of  the  many 
worn  out  fields  resulting  from  cotton  culture.  They  stare 
at  us  on  every  side,  and  make  an  exceedingly  unsightly  ap- 
pearance on  a  well  ordered  farm.  The  long  creeping  roots 
will  swing  down  into  f  he  gullies  and  soon  put  a  stop  to 
washes,  and  the  immense  herbage  will,  after  a  while,  renew 
the  fertility  of  the  soil.  No.  10  is  another  mixture  designed 
for  the  same  purpose.  It  is  only  a  matter  of  judgment  to 
be  exercised  by  the  owner  which  he  will  take.  No.  1 1  is  a 
good  mixture  to  use  for  hay,  a  few  years,  but  the  blue  grass 
will  ultimately  master  the  others  and  will  thrive  on  the 
fertility  induced  by  the  others.  Nos.  1  and  2  are  regular 
meadow  grasses,  amply  proven  by  use  in  the  New  England 
States,  and  number  3  is  better  adapted  for  orchards  or  thin 
woodlands,  especially  lawns,  too  large  to  be  devoted  solely 
to  ornamental  purposes. 


MANAGEMENT   OF    MEADOWS.  265 

On  light  sandy  soils  number  4  would  be  a  good  selection, 
and  would  be  well  adapted  to  the  Rim  counties  as  well  as 
to  West  Tennessee  or  that  portion  consisting  of  sandy  soils. 
Number  5  would  come  in  on  any  portion  of  the  State  where 
swampy  lands  that  can  be  drained  exist,  and  these  lands  are 
plentiful,  both  on  uplands  and  bottoms.  This  character  of 
land  is  exceedingly  fertile  when  reclaimed  from  the  coldness 
of  water,  abounding  in  all  the  elements  necessary  to  pro- 
duce largely  most  excellent  grass.  Nunber  6  is  intended 
for  those  bottom  lands  not  swampy,  yet  moist  during  most 
of  the  winter  months.  There  is  a  great  quantity  of  land 
on  every  creek  and  river  in  Tennessee  lying  on  the  flood 
plateau,  and  ordinarily  the  meadows  are  so  injured  by 
frequent  overflows  that  the  grass  is  either  destroyed  or 
greatly  injured.  Number  7  will  meet  the  indications  on 
these  lands  and  survive  any  ordinary  deposit  of  water. 
Numbers  8  and  9  are  intended  to  be  sown  on  the  hill  lands 
or  mountain  sides  whose  soil  is  full  of  gravel  or  rock. 
These  are  mostly  creeping  grasses,  and  will  run  over  and 
hide  large  ledges  of  rock. 

'  Clover  is  mixed  with  all  the  different  numbers  for  the 
especial  purposes  stated  heretofore,  and  we  think  even  if  it 
had  no  qualities  as  a  hay  grass,  it  should  enter  into  every  pas- 
ture for  its  great  fertilizing  qualities.  In  ,the  first  few,  or 
New  England  groups,  white  clover  is  selected  as  one  of 
the  constituents.  We  might  safely  leave  that  out,  as  it  is 
indigenous  here  and  will  spring  up  quickly  on  every  pasture 
and  meadow  in  "clover  years,"  as  they  are  termed,  for  some 
years  it  seems  to  disappear  almost  entirely,  and  then  it  cov- 
ers the  ground  in  the  most  unexpected  manner  every  where. 
This  is  not  the  case  in  New  England,  and  there  it  must  be 
sown  to  get  a  stand. 

These  assumptions  are  not  to  be  taken  without  verifica- 
tion by  experiment,  but  are  to  be  considered  merely  as  the 
opinion  of  one  farmer  given  to  another,  but  a  careful  course 
of  experiments  could  soon  settle  the  question  of  the  truth- 


266  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

fulness  of  our  opinion.  Of  one  thing  we  are  certain,  and 
that  is,  that  in  following  nature  by  a  large  admixture  of 
species,  we  will  get  much  quicker,  and  with  but  a  small  in- 
creased cost,  a  close  firm  turf  or  sward  on  both  meadows  and 
pastures.  Some  will  say  if  we  follow  nature  we  ought  to 
sow  only  those  grasses  that  are  natural  to  the  soil.  But  it 
must  be  remembered  that  if  this  rule  was  observed  we 
would  deprive  ourselves  of  the  advantage  of  acquiring  all 
those  improved  kinds  found  elsewhere.  We  would  have  no 
timothy  or  herds  grass  or  blue  grass,  but  only  those  kinds 
that  may  have  been  brought  by  winds  or  floods,  or  dropped 
by  birds,  and  often  seeds  are  brought  in  these  ways  that  are 
not  specially  adapted  to  the  soils  where  accident  brings 
them.  On  the  contrary,  it  should  be  the  aim  of  every  man 
to  use  his  best  endeavors  to  grasp  that  which  is  good,  and 
improve  that  which  he  has.  He  should  not  hesitate  to  try 
everything  that  comes  with  a  good  character,  and  if  he  is 
deceived  now  and  then,  yet  he  sometimes  gets  a  rich  reward 
for  his  labor  and  expense. 

TIMES   AND    MANNER   OF   SOWING. 

Up  to  1810  the  almost  invariable  rule  among  all  farmers 
was  to  sow  grass  seeds  in  the  Spring  of  the  year  on  crops 
of  grain.  Since  that  time  the  practice  has  changed  to  a 
great  extent,  and  while  some  still  adhere  to  Spring  sowing, 
the  great  majority  of  farmers  sow  in  the  early  fall.  Some 
few  sow  grass  alone,  but  the  most  of  them  sow  with  some 
kind  of  grain.  There  are  many  who  contend  it  is  much 
better  to  sow  alone,  as  the  half  crop  that  will  be  harvested 
the  next  year  is  fully  equivalent  to  the  value  of  the  grain 
crop,  while  if  the  two  are  sown  together,  they  both  work 
injuriously  on  each  other.  The  stand  of  grass  is  injured, 
and  the  yield  of  grain  is  diminished.  With  all  that,  the 
general  custom  is  to  sow  on  grain  fields,  and  wait  until  the 
second  year  for  hay.  Those  who  contend  for  the  latter  way, 
say,  if  the  grass  is  sown  alone  it  will  be  so  delicate  the  first 


MANAGEMENT   OF   MEADOWS  267 

year  that  the  weeds  will  come  up  faster  than  it  will,  and 
destroy  to  a  great  extent  the  young  grass  ;  for  at  the  time 
the  mower  should  run  over  it  to  destroy  the  weeds,  the 
farmer  is  so  busy  with  the  other  crops,  he  neglects  to  attend 
to  it,  until  the  weeds  have  greatly  injured  the  grass.  But 
one  thing  is  very  essential,  let  it  be  sown  with  whatever 
it  may,  it  must  be  in  the  ground  long  enough  before  frosts 
to  take  a  deep  root,  or  much  of  it  will  be  destroyed  by  cold. 
Clover  rnusv,  however,  in  either  case,  be  reserved  until 
Spring,  as,  when  young,  it  is  very  sensitive  to  the  effects 
of  cold  unless  it  is  sown  in  August.  It  is  the  custom  of 
some  farmers  to  sow  clover  and  other  grass  seeds,  mixed  in 
the  last  plowing  of  late  corn.  Should  that  course  be  decid- 
ed on  the  corn  must  be  late,  and  plowed  on  the  level  prin- 
ciple, and  the  clover  sowed  after  the  last  plowing.  Some 
crops  have  succeeded  admirably,  put  in  on  this  plan.  But 
the  better  plan  will  be  to  prepare  the  ground  well,  as  already 
stated,  and  sow  the  seed,  if  alone,  from  the  15th  of  Septem- 
ber to  the  15th  of  October;  if  with  a  grain  crop  as  soon  as 
it  can  be  put  in  safely.  Wheat  is  sow  n,  as  a  general  practice, 
too  late  to  insure  a  stand  of  grass  that  will  resist  the  winter, 
and  it  is  therefore  better  to  sow  with  rye  or  barley.  Let 
the  time  of  sowing  be  when  it  may,  the  farmer  must  watch 
for  a  season,  otherwise  the  moisture  brought  up  by  plowing^ 
will  be  sufficient  to  germinate  the  seeds,  but  not  to  make 
them  live,  and  even  if  the  moisture  is  not  enough  to  make 
them  germinate,  there  may  be  enough  to  sprout  them,  and 
they  will  still  be  destroyed. 

If  it  is  the  intention  to  sow  on  a  stubble,  it  is  better,  as 
soon  as  possible  after  harvest,  to  prepare  the  land  and  sow 
in  some  of  the  August  seasons,  and  if  sown  then  the  clover 
sowing  may  not  be  deferred,  but  sown  with  the  other  seeds, 
as  they  will  iiave  ample  time  then  to  root  enough  to  with- 
stand the  cold  of  winter.  Timothy,  or  herds  grass,  sown 
in  September  or  October  alone,  will  always  make  a  good 
crop  the  next  summer. 


268 


MANAGEMENT    OF    MEADOWS. 


As  compared  with  spring  sowing,  we  may  safely  prefer 
rail.  Both  heat  and  cold  are  injurious  to  young  grass  plants, 
but  of  the  two,  cold  is  much  less  injurious  than  the 
droughts  of  summer.  It  was  the  experience  of  the  writer, 
on  one  occasion,  to  sow  a  large  meadow.  He  began  about 
the  1st  of  September  and  sowed  on  until  rains  stopped  him, 
and  again  in  the  middle  of  October,  and  finished  early  in 
March.  On  the  September  sowing  there  was  a  magnificent 
stand  that  stood  over  the  ground  with  a  solid  turf.  On  the 
October  crop  the  stand  was  fair,  but  much  was  destroyed 
during  the  winter,  and  the  weeds  were  very  troublesome 
the  next  year.  On  the  March  sowing  the  stand  promised 
as  well  as  the  September  crop,  but  the  droughts  of  summer 
destroyed  it  completely. 

But  there  will  always  be  a  difference  of  opinion  on  this 
subject,  and  this  difference  mainly  arises  from  the  difference 
in  the  character  of  soils.  Seme  soils  are  better  sown  in  the 
spring,  while  others  secure  better  results  by  fall  sowing — 
and  in  either  case  the  successful  farmer  will  advocate  his 
plan.  But  in  either  case,  as  Gen.  Harding  truthfully  says, 
a  man  will  fail  sometimes,  let  him  sow  when  he  will.  No 
amount  of  prescience  is  sufficient  to  foresee  all  the  casual- 
ties his  labor  is  subject  to,  and  for  a  man  to  give  up  or  des- 
pair for  one  or  two  or  even  three  failures,  argues  but  poorly 
for  his  success  as  a  farmer.  He  must  continue  to  try,  and 
when  he  succeeds  he  will  have  the  proud  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  he  is  master  of  the  ground. 

A  few  words  only  are  necessary  in  regard  to  the  manner 
of  sowing.  In  the  first  place,  the  ground  should  be  thor- 
oughly prepared,  and  a  season  on  hand,  and  if  a* rain  has 
fallen  since  the  ground  was  put  in  order,  and  packed  the 
surface,  run  a  sharp  toothed  harrow  over  it  to  break  up  the 
crust,  then  sow  the  seed  and  roll  it  in.  A  light  harrowing 
will  also  do  on  clayey  soils.  If  its  surface  is  too  rocky, 
stumpy  or  sloping,  to  admit  a  roller,  the  next  best  thing  is 
to  brush  it  with  a  light  full  brush.  If  the  surface  is 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  269 

perfectly  smooth  before  the  seeds  are  sown  a  light  brushing 
does  very  well,  but  if  it  is  not,  a  roller  is  preferable,  as  it 
will  not  cover  so  deeply  as  a  brush.  Remember  that  all 
seeds  covered  two  inches  deep  will  not  germinate.  If  sown 
with  grain,  smooth  the  ground  over  with  a  brush  after  the 
grain  is  sown,  and  let  a  hand  follow  immediately  behind  and 
cast  the  seed  into  the  brush.  Never  use  a  heavy  thin 
brush,  but  if  the  limbs  are  full  of  twigs  it  will  not  mat- 
ter as  to  weight.  Then  it  will  not  cover  too  deeply. 

It  may  be  necessary,  and  generally  is,  to  roll  the  land  in  the 
spring,  especially  if  the  meadow  is  a  stiff  clay  soil,  as  the 
frosts  of  winter  will  usually  heave  up  most  of  the  soil, 
thereby  carrying  up  roots  and  earth,  and  unless  it  is  packed 
in  again  the  succeeding  droughts  will  surely  destroy  the  grass. 
All  these  directions  are  not  to  be  taken  as  applying  to  every 
locality,  or  situation,  for  as  a  difference  of  soil  and  climate 
affects  the  results,  so  only  can  experience,  controlled  by 
reason,  govern  the  complete  details  of  this,  or  any  other 
species  of  planting. 

CUTTING,    CUEING   AND   STORING   HAY. 

There  has  been,  and  still  is  more  differences  of  opinion 
among  hay  farmers,  as  to  the  proper  time  of  cutting,  than 
upon  any  other  point  connected  with  hay.  There  are 
different  times  for  the  different  varieties,  but  as  a  rule  there 
should  be  but  one  way.  The  time  of  flowering  is,  unques- 
tionably, the  general  indication  for  the  harvest  to  begin. 
At  this  time  the  saccharine  juices  that  go  to  the  formation 
and  development  of  the  seed,  are  stored  in  the  stalk  and 
leaves,  and  if  saved  then,  they  will  loose  only  their  watery 
constituents,  and  the  grass  will  be  as  palatable  and  succu- 
lent as  when  standing,  and  will  be  eaten  clean  by  all  kinds 
of  stock. 

Still,  some  wait  until  the  pollen  falls  and  the  seeds  are  in 
the  milk,  and  those  practising  this  plan  contend  that  the  hay 
not  scour  the  horses  so  badly,  But  there  is  another 


270          MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

reason  why  some  defer  the  cutting  to  so  late  a  date,  and  that 
is,  it  will  not  lose  so  much  water,  and  consequently  will  be 
heavier  and  so  bring  more  money. 

A  good  authority  says,  "I  .cut  in  the  blossom  when  the 
hay  is  designed  for  milch  cows,  or  for  fattening  beeves,  be- 
cause in  that  state  it  makes  more  beef,  and  induces  the  cows 
to  give  more  milk ;  but  if  for  work  stock,  horses  or  oxen,  I 
cut  six  days  later,  or  thereabouts,  because  it  does  not  scour 
or  loosen  the  animal  so  much  as  when  cut  in  the  blossom/7 
In  either  case,  however,  in  an  extensive  crop,  if  the  har- 
vesting begins  at  the  blossoming  period,  it  will  be  six  days 
before  it  is  finished. 

It  is  very  evident  if  the  hay  is  cut  after  the  ripening  of 
the  seeds,  the  leaves  will  have  but  little  sustenance,  and  the 
stems  will  be  only  woody  fibre,  the  nutritive  elements 
having  nearly  all  gone  to  the  seed.  It  is  the  testimony  of 
most  farmers  that  the  rowen  or  the  afterneath  is  better  for 
milcn  cows,  and  for  fattening  purposes  than  the  first  cut- 
ting, which  goes  to  prove  that  the  earlier  period,  that  is,  at 
blossoming,  is  the  best,  from  the  fact  that  the  season  gener- 
ally compels  the  farmer  to  cut  the  rowen  before  the  grass  is 
past  the  time  of  blossoming. 

Another  reason  for  not  allowing  the  grass  to  manure  the 
seed,  is,  that  the  meadow  will  sooner  run  out.  When  the 
seed  forms,  the  vitality  of  the  grass  becomes  impaired,  and 
it  falls  a  victim  much  easier  to  either  excessive  cold  or  heat. 
It  is  the  disposition  of  all  vegetation  to  die  after  it  has 
made  provision  for  perpetuation,  and  those  grasses  that  have 
perennial  roots  are  the  exception  to  the  rule,  but  all  partake 
more  or  less  of  this  principle.  And  besides  it  creates  a 
heavier  draft  upon  the  soil  than  if  cut  sooner. 

Some  exceptions  exist  in  regard  to  some  of  the  meadow 
grasses  in  the  list,  as  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  table 
at  the  end  of  this  chapter.  This  refers  only  to  some 
of  the  coarser  grasses,  not  in  general  use  in  Tennessee.  For 
instance,  if  the  "Means"  grass  is  allowed  to  even  blossom, 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  271 

it  is  almost  worthless.  The  Gamma  grass  and  possibly  the 
Lucerne  should  be  cut  as  often  as  it  is  high  enough  to  run 
the  mower  through  them,  as  they  become  very  hard,  stiff 
and  woody  if  they  grow  too  rank,  whereas,  they  are,  if  cut 
in  time,  very  sweet  and  nutritious. 

There  is  also  much  difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the 
proper  time  for  cutting  clover.  Some  will  take  a  stalk  and 
tie  a  knot  in  it,  and  if  much  sap  exudes  from  it,  they  will 
leave  it  until  it  will  barely  show  moisture.  Others  will  cut 
when  the  field  is  about  half  in  blossom,  while  still  others 
will  defer  it  until  about  half  the  heads  are  brown  and  the 
seed  are  in  a  milky  state.  But  the  mass  of  testimony  is  in 
favor  of  cutting  clover  when  a  few  brown  heads  show  them- 
selves over  the  field.  If  the  crop  is  exceptionally  heavy,  it 
is  better  to  begin  even  before  any  brown  heads  appear.  It 
seems  strange  that  the  clover  will  be  heavier  when  cut  green, 
but  it  is  nevertheless  true,  and  it  is  more  relished  by  stock. 
Besides  when  cut  early  the  leaves  are  not  so  liable  to  shatter 
as  it  is  when  dryer  or  later  cut.  And  the  leaves  form  no 
inconsiderable  portion  of  this  mass  of  clover  hay. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  just  before  the  formation  of 
the  seed  there  is  a  larger  per  cent,  of  sugar,  starch  and  glu- 
ten in  the  stalk  than  at  any  other  time.  When  the  grass  first 
springs  up  it  is  filled  almost  entirely  with  water,  as  any  one 
can  satisfy  himself  by  chewing  a  stem  in  its  different  periods 
of  growth.  As  the  plant  grows  and  matures,  the  water 
gradually  becomes  impregnated  with  these  substances,  and 
at  its  blossoming  period,  these  elements  exist  in  their  great- 
est quantity — in  fact  nature  is  now  storing  up  material  from 
which  to  form  the  seed,  and  these  stores  are  held  ready  in 
the  stalk,  to  effect  that  purpose.  These  elements  are  all  so- 
luble in  water,  and  consequently,  are  easily  dissolved  by 
the  juices  of  the  stomach.  But  if  these  principles  are  al- 
lowed to  go  to  the  seed,  they  leave  the  stalk,  and  at  once  the 
plant  starts  on  its  downward  course,  becoming  more  and 
more  woody,  until  finally  decay  sets  in,  and  the  hay  is  then 


272          MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

worthless ;  because  the  woody  fibre  is  insoluble  in  the  stom- 
ach. By  reference  to  the  table  given  at  the  close  of  this 
chapter  of  experiments  on  different  grasses,  it  will  be  seen 
there  are  exceptions  to  this  principle — some  grasses  giving 
more  nutritive  principles  at  seeding  time,  than  others,  while 
in  blossom;  but  still,  with  this  fact  in  view,  if  the  grasses 
are  allowed  to  go  to  seed,  they  impoverish  the  soil,  lessen 
the  age  of  the  meadow,  and  utterly  destroy  the  chance  for 
a  second  crop — and  the  quantity  of  hay  saved  is  almost  al- 
ways greater  at  any  time  before  seeding  than  afterwards. 

Prof.  Kirtland   draws   the   following    conclusions    from 
many  careful  observations  as  regards  timothy : 

1.  "That  timothy  is  a  perennial  plant,  which  renews  it- 
self by  an  annual  formation  of  bulbs,"  or  perhaps,  more 
correctly  speaking,  tubers,  in   which   the   vitality  of  the 
plant  is  concentrated  during  the  winter.     These  form  in 
whatever  locality  the  plant  is  selected  without  reference  to 
dryness,  or  moisture.     From  these  proceed  the  stalks  that 
support  the  heads  and  leaves,  and  from  the  same  source 
spread  out  the  numerous  fibres  forming  the  true  roots. 

2.  To  insure  a  perfect  development  of  tubers  a  certain 
amount  of  nutrition  must  be  assimilated  in  the  leaves  and 
returned  to  the  base  of  the  plant,  through  the  stalk. 

3.  As  soon  as  the  process  of  nutrition  is  completed,  it 
becomes  manifest  by  a  state  of  desiccation  or  dryness,  al- 
ways commencing  at  a  point  directly  above  either  the  first 
or  second  joint  of  the  stem  near  the  crown  of  the  tubers. 
From  this  point  the  desiccation  gradually  progresses  up- 
ward, and  the  last  portion  of  the  stalk  yielding  its  fresh- 
ness is  that  adjoining  the  head.     Coincident  with  the  be- 
ginning of  this  process,  is  the  full  development  of  the  seeds, 
and  with  its  progress  they  mature.     Its  earliest  appearance 
is  evidence  that  both  the  tubers  and  seeds  have  received 
their  requisite  supplies  of  nutrition,  and  that  neither  the 
stalk  nor  the  leaves  are  longer  necessary  to  aid  them  in 
completing  their  maturity.     A  similar  process  occurs  in  th« 


MANAGEMENT   OF    MEADOWS.  273 

onion  just  above  the  bulb,  indicating  a  maturity  of  that 
organ. 

4.  If  the  stalk   be  cut  from  the  tubers  before  this  evi- 
dence of  maturity  appears,  the  necessary  supplies  of  nutri- 
tion will   be  arrested,  their  proper  growth  will  cease,  and 
an  effort  will  be  made  to  repair  the  injury  by  sending  out 
small  lateral  tubers,  from  which  weak  unhealthy  stalks  will 
proceed,  at  the  expense  of  the  original  tubers.     All  will  ul- 
timately perish,  either  by  the  drought  of  autumn  or  the 
cold  of  winter. 

5.  The  tubers,  together  with  one  or  two  of  'the  lower 
joints  of  the  stalk,  remain  fresh  and  green  during  the  win- 
ter, if  left  to  take  their  natural  course ;  but  if,  by  any  means, 
this  green  portion  be  severed,  at  any  season  of  the  year, 
the  result  is  the  death  of  the  plant."  From  these  five  propo- 
sitions, the  following  conclusions  are  drawn: 

1.  "The  timothy  grass  cannot,  under  any  circumstances, 
be  adapted  for  pasture,  as  the  close  nipping  of  horses  and 
sheep  is  fatal  to  the  tubers,  which  are  also  extensively  de- 
stroyed by  swine,  if  allowed  to  run  in  the  pasture. 

2.  That  the  proper  time  for  mowing    timothy,  is  at  any 
time  after  the  process  of  desiccation  has  commenced  on  the 
stalk,  as  noted  in  the  third  proposition.     It  is  not  very 
essential  whether  it  is  performed  a  week  earlier  or  later, 
provided  it  be  postponed  till  that  evidence  of  maturity  has 
become  manifested. 

3.  All  attempts  at  close  shaving  the  sward,  should  be 
avoided  while  using  the  scythe,  and  in  guaging  the  mowing 
machines,  care  should  be  taken   to  run  them  so  high  that 
they  will  not  cut  the  timothy  below  the  second  joint  above 
the  tuber." 

Any  one  can  verify  these  propositions  and  conclusions,  by 
going  late  in  the  fall  to  a  meadow  of  timothy  and  examin- 
ing for  himself.  He  will  see  that  those  tubers  that  have  a 
green  stalk,  however  short,  will  be  large,  full,  healthy  and 
and  green,  while  on  the  contrary,  those  cut  close  will  have 
18 


I 

274  MANAGEMENT   OF    MEADOWS. 

a  withered  appearance,  and  often  will  be  dead.  I  have 
often  seen  tussocks  perfectly  dead,  and  until  this  idea  was 
brought  to  my  attention,  was  unable  to  account  for  it.  There 
is  also,  it  is  proper  to  state,  a  small  insect  that  is  peculiar 
to  timothy,  and  sometimes  the  death  of  the  plant  may 
properly  be  attributed  to  its  ravages.  The  presence  of  the 
insect  or  its  burrows  in  the  bulb  will  enable  the  observer 
to  attribute  it  to  its  proper  cause. 

CUTTING. 

Perhaps  no  invention  of  agricultural  machinery,  and  their 
name  is  legion,  has  afforded  more  positive  benefit  to  the 
farmer  than  the  introduction  of  the  mowing  machine.     Be- 
fore its  invention,  no  farmer  could,  with  certainty  and  suc- 
cess, secure  a  large  amount  of  hay.     It  ripens  in  the  hottest 
of  the  weather  and  at  a  time  when  the  labor  of  the  country 
is,  as  a  general  thing,  all  actively  employed ;  so  if  a  man 
did  get  enough,   it  was  at  an  exorbitant  price,  fearfully 
reducing  his  profits.     Then  the  grass,  if  of  one  crop,  all 
needs  cutting  at  once,  so  it  would  be  impracticable  to  save 
it  all  in  prime  condition.     The  oldest  instrument  used,  was 
a  sickle,  and  for  many  years  the  farmer  had  to  content  him- 
self with  grasping  with  one  hand  what  he  cut  with  the 
other,  and  woe  unto  the  back  during  this  slow  and  painful 
operation.     It  was  a  great  improvement  on  the  sickle  when 
the  mowing  blade  or  scythe  came  into  use,  though  there 
were  found  then  as  now  plenty  (if  old  men  who  adhered  to 
the  way  of  their  fathers,  and  thought  the  scythe  an  inno- 
vation that  would   soon  disappear.     Though  a  great  im- 
provement, yet  it  is  a  most  laborious  operation,  and  a  man 
that  can  cut  down  an  acre  a  day  is  rarely  to  be  found.     It 
is  a  severe  test  of  strength,  and  brings  into  play  nearly 
every  muscle  of  the  body,  so  that  there  is  no  rest  for  any. 
But  the  mowing  machine  has  rendered  it  unnecessary  to  use 
it,  except  in  rocky  or  very  broken  spots,  where  the  ma- 
chine will  not  go.     It  is  altogether  unnecessary  to  adduce 
any  arguments  to  prove  the  superiority  of  the  mower  over 


MANAGEMENT  OF    MEADOWS.  275 

the  old  plan.  It  will  cut  from  six  to  eight  acres  in  a  day, 
and  will  spread  the  hay  as  it  goes,  better  than  a  man  will 
do  it,  and  when  cut  by  hand,  it  requires  one  man  to  every 
four  or  five  hands  to  do  the  spreading  alone. 

Many  persons  object  to  the  mowers,  from  the  ease  with 
which  they  are  damaged.  This  can  be  obviated  to  a  great 
extent,  by  buying  in  the  first  place,  a  well-constructed  ma- 
chine. No  man  may  expect  to  get  a  cheap  machine  to  do  as 
good  work  or  to  keep  up  as  long  at  it  as  one  that  has  been 
faithfully  constructed  and  carefully  arranged.  Then  a 
farmer  must  himself  be  a  careful  manipulator.  He  must 
not  expect  to  run  his  mower  with  impunity  over  roots, 
rocks  or  grubs.  But  if  carefully  handled  and  properly 
driven,  there  is  no  reason  why  one  may  not  last  through 
many  years. 

Another  improvement  is  the  horse  rake.  The  first  one 
used  was  the  horizontal  rake,  that  running  under  the  swath 
heaped  it  up  until  the  teeth  were  full,  when  by  a  slight  lift 
of  the  handles,  it  turned  over,  leaving  the  hay  in  wind- 
rows. This  it  did  very  well,  and  still  does  well,  but  an- 
other has  come  into  very  general  use,  that  is  a  little  more 
extensive,  but  gives  the  driver  a  seat  on  it,  and  certainly 
gathers  up  the  grass  cleaner  than  the  other.  These  are  of 
various  patents,  and  the  selection  is  a  matter  of  taste,  all  of 
them  being  good  machines. 

The  Tedder  is  another  machine  that  is  used  extensively 
in  the  Northern  States,  where  the  weather  is  more  uncer- 
tain than  here,  and  the  hay  dries  much  slower  than  beneath 
the  Southern  sun.  It  is  seldom  used  in  Tennessee,  and  is 
but  seldom  necessary.  It  is  used  for  the  purpose  of  shak- 
ing up  and  re-spreading  the  hay.  Should  a  rain  overtake 
the  hay  before  it  is  put  into  cocks,  it  will  be  a  very  useful  in- 
strument to  lift  it  from  the  ground  and  lay  it  down  again 
lightly,  thus  allowing  free  circulation  of  air  under  it. 

Being  now  supplied  with  the  necessary  machines  to 
commence  harvest,  it  is  necessary,  as  a  preliminary,  to  put 


276  MANAGEMENT   OF    MEADOWS. 

them  in  good  condition,  for  the  job.  A  carpenter  would 
make  but  a  poor  progress,  were  he  to  commence  a  building 
without  having  sharp  tools,  so  the  mowing  machine  blades 
must  not  only  be  well  ground,  but  they  must  be  kept  in  that 
condition.  When  the  blades  become  dull,  their  efficiency 
will  be  greatly  impaired,  leaving  bunches  of  grass  over  the 
meadow,  and  adding  greatly  to  the  draught  of  the  horses. 
Not  only  must  they  be  well  sharpened,  but  all  the  nuts 
should  be  tightened,  as  a  loose  bolt  will  often  produce  a 
breakage.  Oil  must  literally  flow  upon  all  the  rubbing 
surfaces.  Many  of  the  journals  require  to  be  oiled  every 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes — good,  pure  oil  should  be  used — 
that  will  not  dry  and  gum  up  the  works. 

When  starting  in,  select  the  longest  "through/'  as  the 
fewer  turns  the  less  loss  of  time.  Keep  an  even,  steady 
gait,  as  it  will  not  be  so  apt  to  tire  or  fret  the  horses.  Don't 
get  fretted  or  out  of  temper  if  some  slight  delay  occurs  from 
carelessness,  or  accidents,  but  resolve  to  profit  by  the  expe- 
rience, and  avoid  like  contingences  in  the  future.  There  is 
a  wonderful  difference  in  the  skill  and  effectiveness  of  dif- 
ferent drivers.  Some  seem  to  glide  over  the  ground  with- 
out difficulty,  all  day  with  the  grass  falling  as  gently  before 
them  as  if  laid  down  by  the  touch  of  fairies,  while  others 
will  storm,  fret  and  frown  all  day  with  but  little  work  done 
and  both  horses  and  themselves  be  worn  out  at  night. 

We  have  refrained  from  going  into  a  history  or  descrip- 
tion of  the  various  machines  in  use.  They  began  at  an 
early  day,  about  1830.  Since  the  introduction  of  William 
Manning's,  a  great  many  different  machines  have  come  into 
use,  and  the  very  best  evidence  of  the  efficiency  of  all  of 
them  is  that  each  man  who  owns  one  thinks  that  "make" 
the  best.  It  is  usual  to  have  a  mower  and  reaper  combined 
but  when  a  man  is  farming  on  a  sufficiently  extensive  scale' 
it  is  better  to  have  them  separate,  ior  the  motion  necessary 
to  be  given  to  the  sickle,  in  mowing,  is  too  rapid  in  reap- 
ing, and  consequently  does  not  do  so  well. 


MANAGEMENT   OP    MEADOWS.  277 

Do  not  fail  to  have  spare  nuts,  and  especially  spare  sec- 
tions for  the  blade,  as  the  breaking  of  a  section  which  will 
occasionally  occur  with  the  most  careful  management,  great- 
ly impedes  the  efficiency  of  the  machine,  and  tires  the  horses 
with  the  harder  pull  it  gives  them. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say,  that  in  beginning  the  harvest  of - 
the  hay,  it  must  not  be  commenced  with  threatning  weather 
overhead,  but  rather  await  a  good  day,  if  the  hay  needs 
cutting  ever  so  much,  as  it  is  better  to  have  well-cured, 
over-ripe  hay,  than  hay  with  all  the  sugar  gum  and  gluten 
washed  out  by  repeated  rains. 

CURING, 

This  is  a  point  upon  which  there  is  as  much  difference  of 
opinion,  perhaps,  as  on  any  other  point  connected  with 
harvesting.  Some  prefer  to  let  it  get  dry  on  the  ground, 
just  as  it  is  left  by  the  mower,  while  others  cure  it  in  the 
wind-row,  and  still  others  cure  it  in  the  cock.  This  refers 
to  the  true  grasses,  for  almost  every  one  who  makes  hay  of 
the  clovers  pursues  one  plan,  which  will  be  spoken  of  di- 
rectly. 

This  difference  in  the  plans  of  curing,  results  chiefly  from 
the  great  difference  there  is  in  the  curing  quality  of  the 
various  grasses.  Timothy  cures  much  easier  and  quicker 
than  herds  grass,  while  the  coarser  grasses,  such  as  Gamma, 
Egyptian  and  others,  require  still  longer  time  than  herds 
grass.  Formerly,  it  was  the  universal  custom  to  allow  it  to 
lie  until  it  was  almost  dry,  before  raking,  but  that  custom 
is  fast  giving  place  to  a  more  rapid  method.  Now,  with 
many  of  our  best  farmers,  it  is  deemed  sufficient  to  allow  it 
to  remain  on  the  gro/und  after  cutting  a  time,  only  long 
enough  for  it  to  become  wilted,  and  then  with  a  rake  it  is 
put  into  wind-rows.  Hands  follow  immediately  with  hand 
rakes,  or  pitchforks  and  throw  it  up  into  cocks.  Some  do 
not  even  cock  it,  but,  if  the  weather  is  favorable,  allow  it 
to  remain  in  the  wind- row  for  a  day,  or  the  second  evening 


278          MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

after  cutting,  and  then  gather  it  up  in  wagons  and  carry  to 
the  rick  or  barn.  But,  probaby,  the  surest  plan  is  to  put  it 
into  cocks  the  evening  after  it  is  cut  in  the  morning,  and 
allow  it  to  remain  in  this  state  for  two  or  three  days,  ac- 
cording as  the  promise  of  good  weather  may  be,  then  throw 
open  the  cocks  and  spread  the  hay  before  hauling  up.  It 
can  be  easily  determined  at  this  stage  whether  or  not  it 
is  sufficiently  cured.  If,  when  examined,  the  cocks  have 
become  heated,  by  opening  them  out  the  heat  that  has  been 
generated  will  readily  become  dissipated,  and  there  is  not 
much  likelihood  of  its  becoming  again  heated,  One  fact  is 
well  ascertained  and  that  is,  the  sooner  it  goes  into  the  rick 
or  barn  after  cutting,  without  spoiling,  the  better  will  be 
the  hay  and  the  more  will  it  be  relished  by  stock. 

It  is  much  better  to  run  some  risk  of  barn  heat,  than  to 
allow  it  to  get  a  wetting.  In  the  green  state  in  which  it  is 
when  cut,  nearly  all  the  nutritious  properties  of  the  grasses 
are  in  a  soluble  condition.  To  allow  the  rains  to  fall  on  the 
hay,  will  quickly  dissolve  them,  and  when  washed  out, 
the  hay  becomes  almost  worthless.  A  slight  amount  of  heat 
is  advantageous,  as  it  is  the  result  of  fermentation,  by  which 
sugar  is  evolved  and  all  its  nourishing  qualities  become  in- 
tensified, but  if  it  proceeds  too  far,  the  hay  becomes  sour  and 
is  greatly  injured.  Some  farmers  adopt  the  plan  of  arresting 
its  disposition  to  heat  by  sprinkling  salt  upon  it,  as  it  is 
stored.  This  is  a  good  plan,  and  increases  the  fondness 
of  stock  for  it  if  too  much  is  not  applied.  One  hand  should 
apply  the  salt  as  it  is  thrown  in,  at  the  rate  of  about  two 
quarts  to  the  two-horse  wagon  load. 

Should  the  farmer  not  wish  to  sell  his  hay,  and  is  scarce 
of  a  supply,  he  can  increase  the  quantity  of  provender  by 
mixing,  as  it  is  put  into  the  heap,  a  thfl^  or  even  a  half  of 
straw,  or  inferior  hay,  that  has  been  left  over,  and  in  the 
curing  process  which  takes  place  the  juices  of  the  new  hay 
will  penetrate  and  sweeten  the  straw,  greatly  improving  its 
character,  without  deteriorating  its  own  quality. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  279 

A  most  excellent  farmer  says,  he  waits  until,  the  dew  is 
off,  then  starts  his  mower,  and  in  the  evening  about  4  o'clock 
starts  the  rake,  and  has  hands  following  with  forks,  and  by 
the  time  the  dew  is  falling,  has  it  all  in  cocks.  The 
next  morning  after  the  dews  dry  up,  he  opens  and  throws 
out  the  cocks,  and  immediately  after  dinner  begins  to  haul 
to  the  barn. 

When  it  is  intended  to  let  it  remain  in  the  corks  for  se- 
veral days,  great  care  should  be  exercised  in  properly  form- 
ing the  hay  into  cocks  in  view  of  wet  weather.  We  have 
no  assurance  of  continued  good  weather,  and  should  at  all 
times  be  prepared  for  the  worst.  Cocks  indifferently 
made  would  be,  if  possible,  worse  than  if  spread  out,  for 
the  water  would  penetrate  them  all  through  and  the  hay 
would  in  a  short  time  mould  or  rot.  In  the  first  place,  they 
should  be  made  large,  not  less  than  one  hundred  pounds  in 
each  at  any  time.  Then  make  them  as  sharp  at  the  top  as 
possible,  so  as  to  be  stout  and  secure  against  winds.  Make 
the  sides  nearly  perpendicular,  and  lastly,  comb  them  down 
well  from  top  to  bottom  with  a  pitchfork  so  as  to  throw  as 
many  stems  as  possible  parallel  with  one  other,  thatching  it 
out  well  in  order  the  better  to  shed  the  water.  But  even 
with  the  most  careful  management,  all  the  outer  layer  and 
some  of  the  interior,  will  be  destroyed  by  long  continued 
rains. 

Some  farmers  in  the  Northern  States  provide  themselves 
with  cloth  caps.  These  will  effectually  protect  the  cocks 
from  injury,  and  if  properly  cared  for,  will  last  many  years. 
It  is  true  in  our  warm  climate  they  are  not  so  much  re- 
quired as,  with  proper  care,  the  entire  crop  can  generally 
be  saved  without  injury,  but  if  any  one  should  desire  to  al- 
low the  cocks  to  remain  for  several  days  in  the  field,  it 
would  be  a  matter  of  economy  to  provide  themselves  with 
caps.  They  are  made  of  5-4  duck,  cut  square,  with  a  twine 
tied  at  each  corner,  and  fastened  to  a  peg.  After  the  cock 
is  made,  a  man  follows  with  the  caps,  and  fastens  the  pegs 


280  MANAGEMENT   OF   MEADOWS. 

in  the  ground  at  the  four  corners,  pulling  the  cloth  out  as 
far  as  necessary  to  tighten  the  cover,  so  that  it  will  stand 
over  the  hay  like  an  umbrella.  With  these  covers  on,  the 
cocks  can  bid  defiance  to  the  heaviest  storms,  as,  although 
a  little  dampness  would  penetrate  at  first,  they  will  soon 
swell  and  tighten,  so  as  to  be  water  proof. 

In  passing  grass  into  hay  and  taking  it  into  market,  it  is 
necessary  to  handle  it  quite  frequently.  The  slovenly  plan 
of  some  farmers  to  use  forks  made  of  a  sapling,  is  to  be 
greatly  reprehended.  Like  all  other  trades,  the  use  of  good 
tools  is  essential  to  good  farming,  and  no  one  should  be  with- 
out good  three-pronged  steel  forks.  It  expedites  work 
very  much,  and  as  a  mere  labor  saving  tool,  is  economical. 
Besides,  it  enables  the  hand  to  take  and  pass  the  grass  more 
completely,  leaving  no  gleanings  behind.  And  then  it 
greatly  relieves  the  strain  on  the  laborer.  So  do  not,  in  this 
work,  begin  until  good  forks  and  hand  rakes  are  provided. 
Sometimes  the  rake  is  very  necessary,  especially  if  from  ac- 
cident the  hay  gets  beaten  into  the  stubble  by  an  unexpect- 
ed thunder  shower. 

The  farmers  of  the  present  day,  enjoy  an  advantage  un- 
known and  unthought  of  by  our  forefathers.  Heretofore 
we  had  weather  prophets,  men  who  would  look  wise,  look 
all  around  at  the  clouds,  and  generally  guess  wrong  as  to 
continued  fair  weather.  The  moon  was  looked  to  as  a  har- 
binger of  rain,  and  great  stress  laid  upon  the  way  it  hung  in 
the  heavens  when  new  moon  began.  There  were,  and  are, 
many  signs,  portent  and  valuable,  both  to  the  mariner  and 
farmer,  and  an  observant  person  will  often  be  able  to  see  a 
storm  in  the  mystic  future.  But  all  these  signs  pale  into 
insignificance  compared  with  the  " probabilities"  column  of 
our  daily  papers.  The  chief  of  the  signal  office,  stationed 
at  Washington,  receives  from  stations,  all  over  the  United 
States,  information  of  coming  storms,  rains  and  winds,  and 
by  long  experience,  is  able  to  tell  almost  with  absolute  accu- 
racy the  beginning  of  a  wet  spell,  for  at  least  twenty-four 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  281 

four  hours  in  advance,  and  can  give  a  very  good  idea  of  it 
for  two  or  three  days  beforehand.  In  every  daily  postoffice 
in  the  United  States  a  bulletin  is  posted,  every  morning, 
of  these  facts,  so  that  it  will  not  be  difficult  for  those  not 
seeing  a  paper,  to  become  informed,  through  one  or  the  oth- 
er methods,  and  most  farmers  now  base  their  time  of  harvest- 
ing on  these  predictions.  The  absolute  necessity  of  getting 
a  favorable  time  for  this  important  work,  will  render  the 
trouble  and  expense  in  procuring  the  necessary  information, 
of  small  moment.  The  crop  of  the  entire  year,  the  health 
and  comfort  of  all  the  stock  on  the  place,  depend  upon  the 
hay  being  properly  saved,  and  a  mistake  or  error  on  this 
point  will  entail  a  serious  loss,  one  that  will  cost  far  more 
than  the  subscript!  in  to  a  good  paper  to  say  nothing  of  the 
useful  information,  to  be  derived  from  it  besides. 

The  foregoing  remarks  apply  to  the  true  grasses  only. 
With  clovers  and  the  leguminous  plants  it  is  different. 
Several  plans  will  be  detailed,  each  good,  and  the  reader 
can  then  make  his  own  selection. 

Cut  clover  when  the  dew  is  off,  let  it  wilt,  and  rake  it  into 
wind-rows.  Allow  it  to  remain  in  this  state  until  the  dew  is 
off  the  next  morning,  and  begin  at  once  to  haul  and  place  in 
the  barn,  sprinkling  salt  in  small  quantities  over  every  layer 
In  this  way  the  entire  crop  will  be  exposed  -only  about  24 
hours,  which  is  amply  sufficient  for  it.  It  will  heat  and  go 
through  a  heavy  sweat,  but  this  will  not  injure  it,  and  it  will 
look  as  fresh  and  almost  as  green  when  cured,  as  when 
standing.  The  salt  is  essential  to  its  proper  preservation. 

Another  plan  is  to  begin  the  formation  of  cocks  on  the 
evening  of  the  first  cutting,  putting  in  all  that  was  cut  in 
the  morning,  and  the  next  morning  cocking  what  was  cut 
the  previous  evening,  thus  gividg  each  cutting  twelve  hours 
of  sun.  These  grasses  cannot  take  more  sun  than  this  with- 
out becoming  so  dry  they  will  lose  their  leaves  and  blossoms 
A  great  risk  is  run  by  cocking  clover  unless  the  farmer  is 
provided  with  cloth  caps,  as,  from  the  crooked,  tortuous 


282  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

stems,  it  is  impossible  to  shield  the  clover  from  the  admis- 
sion of  water.  The  cocks  are  examined  from  day  to  day  as 
the  curing  process  advances,  until  the  farmer  is  convinced, 
from  his  experience,  the  hay  is  well  cured.  Should  no  wet 
weather  intervene  the  hay  will  be  excellent,  and  will  re- 
main, uninfluenced  by  heat,  in  the  barn  an  indefinite  length 
of  time.  Some  farmers  provide  themselves  with  split  sticks, 
about  the  size  of  pea  sticks,  three  feet  long,  driving  them 
into  the  ground,  three  together,  open  at  the  bottom  and 
close  at  top,  in  the  shape  of  a  tripod,  and  form  the  cocks  upon 
them,  thus  giving  them  air  in  the  interior.  Heating  is  thus 
prevented,  and  the  process  of  curing  advances  with  much 
greater  rapidity,  and  good  hay  is  soon  made.  By  this  plan 
the  hay  will  be  well  cured  in  two  days  at  most,  while  by 
the  other  plan  it  will  require  three  or  four  days.  How- 
ever, from  the  personal  experience  of  the  writer,  which  is 
considerable,  the  first  plan  detailed  is  the  safest  and  best, 
and  he  has  never  failed  to  secure  good  bright  nutritious  hay. 
It  would  seem  to  many,  that  it  would  easily  heat,  mould 
and  rot  from  the  quantity  of  water. in  the  stalks  and  foliage, 
but,  there  being  a  large  percentage  of  sugar  in  it,  it  becomes 
candied  and,  after  this,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  its 
keeping. 

Should  the  farmer  have  a  quantity  of  good  clean  wheat, 
oat,  or  rye  straw,  it  is  a,  very  good  practice,  and  a  safe  one,  to 
throw  a  layer  of  it  between  each  load  of  clover.  It  will 
permit  the  passage  of  the  air  and  the  aroma  of  the  clover 
will  penetrate  the  straw,  each  in  this  manner  benefitting  the 
other,  so  that  both  will  be  eaten  with  a  relish  by  cattle. 

For  milch  cows  and  sheep,  clover  hay,  vetches,  peas  and 
beans  are  far  superior  to  any  other  kinds  of  hay.  Cows 
will  yield  more  and  better  milk  than  from  the  other  grasses, 
but  for  horses,  the  timothy  and  herds  grass  hays  are  superior 
to  clover. 

There  are  some  other  kinda  of  hay  procured  from  the 
cereals,  that  must  be  treated  in  a  different  manner  from 


MANAGEMENT  OF   MEADOWS.  283 

any  of  the  preceding  grasses,  but  this  subject  will  be  treated 
under  the  head  of  cereals,  as  soiling  crops. 


STOEING. 

But  little  need  be  said  on  this  subject,  as  the  practice  of 
every  one  now  is  to  provide,  as  far  as  practicable,  for  stor- 
age under  shelter. 

It  was  formerly  deemed  sufficient  to  stack  the  hay  in  the 
meadow,  and  enclose  it  with  a  pen,  until  wanted  for  use  or 
sale. 

Farmers  often,  instead  of  making  conical  stacks,  put  the 
entire  crop  into  a  long  roof-shaped  rick,  In  making  either 
one  or  the  other,  care  must  be  taken  to  carry  it  up  with 
regularity,  having  no  sink  or  depressions  in  it,  as  they 
would  serve  only  to  convey  rains  to  the  interior.  The  rake 
must  be  freely  used  on  its  sides  to  straighten  out  the  stems 
and  remove  all  loose  hay  that  would  otherwise  be  a 
waste.  Of  the  two  plans  ricks  are  decidedly  the  better,  as 
less  surface  is  exposed  to  the  rains,  and  consequently  there 
is  less  loss.  When  it  is  desired  to  remove  hay  from  a  rick, 
it  can  be  hewed  from  the  end,  either  with  an  ordinary  chop- 
ping- axe,  a  broad  axe,  or  with  a  regular  hay  knife,  such 
being  made  and  sold  for  the  purpose.  By  this  means,  the 
roof  of  the  rick  will  be  intact,  and  the  hay  is  not  injured 
by  exposure.  On  the  other  hand,  in  removing  a  stack 
it  has  to  be  attacked  at  the  top  of  the  cone,  and  unless 
it  is  all  taken  before  it  rains,  the  remainder  is  greatly 
injured. 

But  the  stack  and  rick  are  both  disappearing  under  the 
improved  ideas  of  economic  farming,  and  the  hay  shelter 
can  now  be  seen  on  nearly  every  man's  farm.  It  consists  of 
tall  shelters  of  beams  and  posts,  without  side-boarding.  It  is 
cheaply  made,  and  is  an  invaluable  aid  to  successful  hay 
making.  These  shelters  or  barns  are  indispensable  to  hay 
made  of  clover,  as  it  will  not  stand  any  amount  of  moisture, 


284  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

however  slight.  The  same  may  be  said  of  several  of  the 
true  grasses,  and  of  all  the  leguminous  plants. 

Some,  intending  to  feed  all  their  hay,  construct  these 
shelters  with  a  rack  in  the  centre,  and  a  set  of  joists  about 
six  feet  from  the  ground,  thus  furnishing  both  food  and 
shelter  to  the  stock  at  the  same  time,  and  obviating  the 
necessity  of  further  handling. 

Another  plan  of  feeding,  is  to  build  a  shelter  with  a 
sliding  roof,  or  one  that  will  rest  on  a  large  stack,  and 
descend  with  the  hay  as  it  is  eaten  underneath,  while  the 
bottom  is  planked  up  around  about  five  feet  high,  to  pre- 
vent the  stock  from  treading  on  the  hay.  But  this  is  more 
expensive  and  does  not  afford  any  shelter  to  the  cattle,  like 
the  sheds  provided  with  central  racks. 

When  it  is  not  desired  to  have  a  number  of  sheds,  and  it 
is  the  intention  of  the  farmer  to  soon  dispose  of  his  crop,  it 
is  customary  to  provide  one  shed,  sufficiently  large,  in  a 
convenient  locality  adjacent  to  the  meadow,  and  stack  all 
the  hay  just  outside  and  around  it,  or  near  enough  to  be 
tossed  under  it  to  a  hay  press,  and  as  soon  as  the  crop  is  all 
secured  the  baling  begins,  and  is  continued  until  it  is  all 
stored  in  the  form  of  bales  beneath  the  shed,  where  it  can 
safely  await  a  favorable  time  for  sale.  Right  here,  let  it  be 
remembered  that  if  a  farmer  wants  a  good  price  for  his  hay. 
it  must  be  prepared  with  a  view  to  sale  from  the  beginning. 
It  must  be  free  of  weeds,  as  no  man,  who  purchases  hay, 
wants  to  pay  three  or  four  cents  a  pound  for  worthless  or 
noxious  weeds,  and  however  good  these  weeds  may  be,  and 
there  are  some  that  are  good  feed,  no  man  wants  to  pay  hay 
prices  for  them.  So  should  the  meadow  be  infested  with 
weeds,  and  they  are  cut  with  the  hay,  it  will  pay  the  farmer 
to  have  boys  go  over  the  windrows  where  they  are  all  col- 
lected with  the  hay  and  pull  them  out.  Of  course  they  will 
not  all  be  withdrawn,  but  many  of  them  will  be  carried  to 
the  stack.  In  baling,  it  can  be  culled  again  and  the  greater 
part  taken  out,  and  should  it  not  be  done,  it  will  enable  the 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  285 

purchaser  to  make  a  valid  objection  to  really  superior  hay 
and  get  it  at  an  inferior  price  on  account  of  the  weeds. 

Then  in  making  the  bales,  be  sure  to  have  a  good  power- 
ful press.  The  heavier  the  bales,  the  less  the  cost  of  trans- 
portation and  the  smoother  the  look  given  the  bale.  Let  it  be 
neatly  bound  by  either  hoops,  splits,  or  what  is  better,  wire. 
The  latter  can  be  purchased  at  a  cost  but  little  higher  than 
will  be  received  for  it  again  as  weighed  with  the  hay,  and 
the  bales  will  present  a  neater  appearance  than  can  possibly  be 
given  by  the  clumsier  process  of  splits  nailed  to  a  board. 
This  will  of  itself  often  decide  a  purchaser  in  .favor  of  the 
sale.  A  buyer,  going  into  a  commission  house  to  fill  an 
order,  will  naturally  be  influenced  by  the  neatness  of  the 
commodity  to  be  purchased ;  and  while  he  may  not  be  a 
judge  of  the  nutritious  character  of  the  hay,  he  will,  as  all 
merchants  are,  be  a  good  judge  of  a  merchantable  bale.  So 
it  is  seen  with  all  branches  of  business  connected  with  farm- 
ing. A  dairy  that  sends  out  nice  yellow  butter,  will  realize 
in  the  market,  at  all  times,  remunerative  prices;  while 
another,  that  puts  on  the  market  white  puffy  butter,  will 
scarcely  find  a  purchaser  at  a  price  great  enough  to  save  the 
producer  from  debt,  although  the  cost  of  running  the  two 
dairies  may  be  exactly  equal.  The  merchant  will  be  glad 
to  sell  for  such  a  farmer,  the  hay  will  sell  readily,  and  hence 
if  there  are  profits  he  will  be  sure  to  realize  them. 

Having  already  spoken  of  various  shelters  for  the  pro- 
tection of  hay  from  weather,  only  one  more  will  be  mention- 
ed, and  that  is  the  "SHELTERED  STACK  POLE,"  which  is 
made  in  the  following  manner,  viz.: 

Set  a  pole  six  inches  square  on  a  cross  of  timbers  about 
the  same  size,  and  brace  it  well  from  each  beam  of  the 
cross.  It  can  be  put  on  either  by  a  mortise  and  tennon  or 
toe-nailed.  Let  the  pole  be  about  fifteen  feet  high,  and 
have  a  series  of  1J  inch  holes  bored  every  12  or  18  inches, 
for  about  half  its  upper  length.  Have  also  a  good  stout 
wooden  or  an  iron  pin  to  go  into  these  holes.  Then  make  a 


286  MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 

conical  roof  of  some  stout  but  very  light  material,  cover  it  with 
half-inch  sheeting,  and  let  it  be  large  enough  to  protect  a 
space  larger  than  the  stack  Frame  it  in  such  a 
manner  that  a  square  hole  will  be  left  in  the  top  of  the  roof, 
through  which  the  stack  pole  will  pass.  It  will  then  slide 
to  the  bottom  where  it  will  rest,  unless  on  hay.  When  it  is 
wished  to  make  the  stack,  raise  the  roof  and  confine  it,  by 
putting  the  pin  through  the  pole  underneath,  and  when  the 
stack  is  completed  let  the  roof  drop  on  the  top  of  the  hay, 
and  it  will  bid  defiance  to  all  manner  of  storms.  Should  it 
be  necessary*  to  move  it,  it  can  be  readily  carried  on  a  wagon 
to  any  part  of  the  farm  and  set  up.  Should  it  be  the  wish 
of  the  farmer  to  allow  the  cattle  to  feed  on  the  hay  in  the 
stack,  provide  four  batoned  sides,  like  a  door,  say  five  feet 
wide,  and  in  length  the  square  of  the  circle  made  by  the 
hay  stack,  provide  them  with  stout  hooks  to  fasten  the  cor- 
ners. The  stack  is  then  protected  to  the  height  of  five  feet. 
In  making  the  stack,  lay  rails  or  poles  across  the  bottom  on 
the  cross  timbers,  and  that  will  keep  it  off  the  ground. 


TROUBLESOME   PLANTS  TO   MEADOWS. 

There  are  several  plants  exceedingly  troublesome  to  the 
meadows  in  Tennessee.  Among  them  is  the  White  Top 
(Erigeron  Philadephicuni),  or  Fleabane.  This  is  a  perennial, 
and  sometimes  infests  meadows  to  such  an  extent  as  to  ren- 
der them  worthless.  Meadows  troubled  with  them  should 
be  mown  several  years  in  succession  when  the  White  Top 
begins  to  blossom.  Broom  Grass  (Andropogon  Scoparius) 
is  also  very  pestiferous,  destroying  meadows  after  four  or 
five  years  unless  closely  watched,  and  the  broom  grass  cut 
up  by  the  roots  every  spring.  The  Trumpet  Creeper  (Big- 
nonia  radicans)  infests  meadows  in  rich  bottom  lands,  and 
when  cat  off  by  the  mower,  iorms  hard  knots  which  will 
arrest  the  action  of  the  sickle.  This  vine  should  be  dug  up 
"  root  and  branch."  White  clover  and  blue  grass  are  both 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS.  287 

great  enemies  to  the  meadow,  and  when  they  prevail  to  any 
extent  it  is  best  to  use  the  meadow  as  a  pasture,  and  sow 
another  meadow  somewhere  else. 

A  top  dressing  of  superphosphate,  or  of  stable  manure 
every  fall,  after  a  crop  of  hay  is  taken  off,  will  also  do 
much  to  keep  down  noxious  weeds  and  grasses.  The  farmer 
should  always  bear  in  mind  that  meadows  require  to  be 
regularly  fed.  It  is  too  much  to  expect  that  they  will 
grow  heavy  crops  of  hay  year  after  year,  without  exhausting 
the  elements  in  the  soil  which  go  to  make  hay.  These 
elements  must  be  supplied.  Restitution  must  be  made  if 
the  farmer  expects  to  have  luxuriant  and  profitable  mea- 
dows. The  best  rule  to  adopt  is,  never  to  take  off  a  crop 
of  hay  without  making  a  liberal  application  of  manure. 

The  following  is  the  table  referred  to  in  this  chapter. 


288 


MANAGEMENT  OF  MEADOWS. 


I 


pq 


a* 
3s 


P998UT  HBTU8  O:> 
&U 
JO 


8    s 
I    - 


•p998 

«T 


T3  ~ 

§s> 

o 


a     ! 


t     t 


m 


•9JOB9UOUT     I   rffjgg.  ISgfj    |ggS       S§^ 
BOT  9ApU)U^  jSr-io-.  (N    jW^,-j    J<M-Ticq        CN-ir-t 

Vt?S    SUI.Jp    W  1  t*i-«IN     I    ^  «C  ^     i   ^-rH  N    I   rM  r-  r-. 


00  «5  CO 

co  ?t  <n 
si  m  <M 


00     I   C  <W  C 


|SlS^ 

l"^i  'ocT 


5 


8    I- 


IPS 


SoS 


li 

II 


S*    .A 


c»  r-" 

¥s" 


Manured 
light 


w 


W    <5 

s  « 

3    s 

s    >j 

!i 

£i       M 

•<        £ 


is 


a  >• 

<5 


^1! 


i    I 


t ' 

i 


I 

^5 

s 

I 


MANAGEMENT   OF   MEADOWS. 


289 


290  A   WOED   ABOUT   MANURES, 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

A   WOED   ABOUT   MANUEES. 

The  people  of  the  South  have  much  to  learn  in  regard 
to  the  successful  management  of  meadow  lands.  Many 
farmers  seem  to  think  it  is  possible  to  take  large  crops  of 
hay  from  the  same  land,  year  after  year,  without  adding 
any  fertilizers.  This  is  a  grand  mistake.  One  had  just  as 
well  expect  to  check  on  his  bank  account  day  after  day, 
without  making  additions  to  his  deposits,  as  to  check  on 
the  soil  for  large  crops  without  properly  feeding  the  land 
which  grows  them. 

The  question  we  ought  to  consider  is,  how  to  man- 
age meadows  after  they  are  properly  sown,  and  a  stand  of 
grass  secured,  so  as  not  only  to  keep  up  their  fertility,  but  to 
increase  their  power  of  production. 

This  question  is  so  well  understood  by  English  farmers, 
that  they  seldom  take  a  crop  of  hay  from  a  piece  of  land 
without  making  a  large  and  expensive  application  of  ma- 
nure. If  the  fray  is  cut  several  times  a  year,  it  is  a  heavy 
draft  upon  the  soil,  and  some  restitution  must  be  made  to 
the  soil  or  it  will  soon  cease  to  meet  the  expectations  of  the 
husbandman.  The  English  farmer,  enlightened  by  exper- 
ience, in  order  to  strengthen  the  land  and  stimulate  the 
grass  roots  to  renewed  exertion,  will  draw  out  upon  the  mea- 
dow various  kinds  of  manure  to  supply  whatever  wants  he 
may  deem  the  land  requires. 

There  are  not  many  kinds  of  manure  in  reach  of  a 
Tennessee  farmer,  unless  he  takes  the  forethought  to  pro- 
vide them.  But  if  he  does  take  this  in  mind,  and  watches 
closely  for  every  thing  that  will  contribute  to  this  end, 
he  will  be  surprised,  himself,  at  the  result  in  a  very  short 
time.  Besides  those  elements  that  are  at  the  command  of 


A   WORD   ABOUT   MANURES.  291 

every  careful  farmer,  there  is  another  class  of  manures  call- 
ed "artificial,"  and  these  can  be  procured  at  any  place  by  a 
sufficient  outlay.  But  they  are  costly,  and  it  requires  a  sci- 
entific acquaintance  with  their  properties,  before  the  ordina- 
ry farmer  will  have  the  courage  to  invest  in  them.  In  other 
words,  he  must  be  able  to  see  why  and  how  his  money  will 
be  returned  with  interest. 

In  order  to  properly  understand  the  requirements  of 
plants,  it  is  essential  the  action  of  the  different  manures 
should  be  known,  together  with  an  approximate  knowledge 
of  the  constituents  of  the  soil.  Soils  are  the  result  of  the 
degradation,  or  breaking  down,  from  various  causes,  of 
rocks.  Through  the  great  convulsions  of  nature,  this  tri- 
turated dust  is  mingled  together,  so  that  every  species  of 
rock  formation  is  represented  in  every  handful  of  clay. 
Were  this  not  the  case,  we  would  have  over  limestone  rocks  a, 
great  mass  of  unproductive  pulverized  carbonate  of  lime;  or 
over  granite,  we  would  see  nothing  but  the  sparkling  atoms 
of  quartz  and  mica,  and  over  each  stratum  there  would  be 
the  constituents  of  that  rock,  and  hence  no  vegetation  would 
charm  the  eye  or  delight  the  heart,  to  say  nothing  of  our 
digestive  wants.  Through  the  agency  of  perfectly  natural 
causes,  (water  principally),  the  soils  have  been  intimately 
mingled.  By  this  wise  provision  vegetation,  in  every  spot  in 
the  world,  finds  some  elements  necessary  to  its  existence. 
But  it  sometimes  happens,  that  there  is  a  deficiency  of 
some  of  the  elements,  and  again  that  there  is  a  surplus.  In 
the  great  alluvial  swamps  decayed  vegetable  matters  exist 
to  such  an  extent  that  some  cereals  do  not  thrive  well, 
and  on  the  other  hand,  on  the  steep  mountain  sides,  by  the 
action  of  washing  rains,  this  matter  has  been  carried  oft. 
Again,  in  many  sections,  the  fertile  matters  have  been  ex- 
hausted, so  nearly  so,  that  the  products  of  the  soil  cease  to 
be  remunerative.  It  is  the  province  of  scientific  agricul- 
ture to  point  out  these  deficiencies  and  direct  the  remedy. 

The  soil  originally  consisted   simply  of  the  debris  of  the 


292  A   WORD   ABOUT  MANCTKES. 

rocks  or  clay.  It  is  composed  of  the  elements  of  the 
rocks,  together  with  an  intimate  admixture  of  some  mineral 
substances.  In  limited  patches  the  soil  partakes  of  the 
character  of  the  formations  underneath.  Thus,  in  iron 
districts,  the  soil  in  places  shows  the  presence,  in  considera- 
ble quantities,  of  iron,  making  the  earth  red  or  brown.  In 
sandstone  countries  the  clay  has  a  quantity  of  sand  overly- 
ing it,  and  among  the  primitive  rocks  scales  of  mica  glisten 
on  every  side.  The  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  thoroughly 
dried  soil  averages  as  follows  : 

Siliceous  sand 111.3  pounds. 

Calcareous  sand 113.6        " 

Sandy  clay 97.8        " 

Loamy  clay 88.8        " 

Stiff  clay 80.3        " 

Slaty  marl 112.          " 

Fertile  mould 68.7        " 

Common  arable  soil 84.5        " 

Chemists,  from  the  earliest  times,  have  been  struck  with 
the  great  proportion  of  insoluble  to  soluble  substances  in 
the  soil.  These  insoluble  substances  will  resist  the  action 
of  acid  and  alkali  in  any  quantities  short  of  destroying  veg- 
etation. Analysts  have  strived  by  the  aid  of  weak  solutions  of 
acids  and  alkilies  to  effect  this,  and  though  the  science  is  by 
no  means  perfect,  they  have  succeeded  in  rendering  much 
inert  matter,  that  has  hitherto  cumbered  the  land,  into  plant 
food.  In  an  average  of  many  kinds  of  soil  the  proportions 
are,  of 

Insoluble  matters, . 89.305; 

Soluble  matters, 2.047; 

Phosphate,  carbon  and  sulphate  lime, ..      3.160, 

Thus  it  is  seen  that,  of  the  great  mass  of  soil,  ranging 
from  a  few  inches  to  many  hundred  feet  thick,  only  a  very 
small  per  cent,  is  available  to  vegetation.  Further,  chemi- 
cal analysis  has  also  developed  the  fact  that  all  animal  tis- 


A   WORD   ABOUT   MANURES.  293 

sues  are  composed  of  these  identical  elements  of  the  soil. 
Truly  and  literally,  we  are  made  of  dust.  But  the  animal 
kingdom  does  not  derive  its  sustenance  directly  from  the 
soil — that  would  be  impossible.  Our  digestive  organs  are  not 
constructed  for  that  purpose,  and  could  not  assimilate  such 
food,  though  in  the  great  famine  of  Germany,  in  the  18th 
century,  the  starving  millions  did  essay  it  only  to  die  in 
torture.  Nature  has  provided  an  intermediate  agent,  vege- 
tation, whose  organs  are  nicely  adapted  to  this  purpose. 
They  send  down  into  the  soil  their  sensitive  feelers,  and  pick 
up  such  stray  bits  of  food  as  men  or  beasts  require.  They 
store  it  away  in  their  granaries  until  it  is  called  for,  and 
these  kind  friends,  are  thus  the  purveyors  to  animal  life. 
Not  only  is  man  thus  directly  fed  by  these  natural  agents, 
but,  to  keep  up  a  constant  unceasing  supply,  a  large  propor- 
tion is  sent  back  to  the  soil,  in  a  form  to  invigorate  man's 
food.  This  refunded  capital  is  variously  called  humin, 
ulmin,  geine.  Ulmin  or  ulmic  acid,  is  the  first  formed;  hu- 
min is  formed  from  ulmin  by  the  absorption  of  oxygen ; 
geine  or  geic  acid  from  humin  by  the  further  absorption  of 
oxygen. 

We  will  describe  all  these  changes,  however,  under  the  gen- 
general  term  of  geine.  Under  some  form  geine  is  essential  to 
agriculture.  It  is  the  result  of  decaying  vegetable  matter,  or 
in  other  words,  it  is  the  active  principle  of  mould,  and  is  the 
direct  result  of  putrefaction.  It  is  carbon,  oxygen  and  hy- 
drogen. It  has  a  powerful  affinity  for  nitrogen,  one  of  the 
constituents  of  the  atmosphere,  and  whenever  it  comes  in 
contact,  the  hydrogen  of  the  geine  unites  with  the  nitrogen 
of  the  air,  and  ammonia  is  the  result.  It  also  absorbs  water 
freely,  and  this  is  why  bottom  lands,  full  of  geine,  fail  to 
suffer  from  drought.  The  geine  attracts  moisture  from  the 
air  and  keeps  the  plant  alive. ,  These  salts,  humin,  ulmin 
and  geine,  were  formerly  called  extract  of  mould.  They 
are,  for  the  most  part,  soluble  in  water.  For  the  sake  of 
brevity,  we  will  embrace  all  these  salts  as  well  as  crenic  and 


294  A   WOED    ABOUT   MANURES. 

and  apocreic  acids,  convertible  with  the  salts,  under  the 
general  term  mould*  So  far  as  nourishment  is  derived  from 
the  soil,  this  substance  is  the  food-  of  plants.  It  has  been 
deposited  over  the  clay,  by  the  gradual  decay  of  vegetation, 
through  many  ages,  and  according  to  the  amount  deposited, 
depends  the  value  of  the  land. 

Why  it  is  that  plants  live  and  grow,  or  how  they  grow 
is  a  mystery  no  philosopher  has  ever  been  able  to  explain. 
God  gives  the  vital  principle,  and  so  long  as  that  continues 
the  plant  is  able  to  resist  an  opposing  power,  which  is  chem- 
istry. When  life  ceases,  chemistry  then  asserts  its  power 
and  decay  begins,  which  leads  to  fermentation,  and  after 
this  process  is  ended,  putrefaction  takes  charge,  which  soon 
resolves  the  body  into  its  original  elements;  and  they  are 
then  ready  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  another  living  body. 
Thus  nothing  is  ever  lost.  It  may  change  its  location  ;  the 
plant  that  grew  at  the  head  of  a  mountain  torrent,  may  ul- 
timately enter  into  the  composition  of  a  sugar  cane  in  the 
delta  of  the  Mississippi,  but  it  is  still  in  the  universe,  silent- 
ly performing  its  duties. 

What  particular  duties  are  performed  by  this  geine  or 
mould?  It  has  the  property,  as  already  stated,  of  com- 
bining with  nitrogen  and  forming  ammonia.  Ammonia  is  a 
powerful  solvent  of  the  inorganic  elements  of  the  soil,  and 
by  this  action,  fertility  is  generated.  Alumina,  magnesia, 
and  various  oxides  of  iron  and  manganese,  will  also  unite 
with  this  geine,  and  the  combination  is  to  some  extent  insol- 
uble, and  thus  stores  of  riches  are,  as  it  were,  laid  up  for  fu- 
ture use,  and  here  it  will  remain  an  indefinite  length  of  time. 
Under  proper  solvents  or  manures,  they  are  again  freed 
and  ready  for  use.  Suppose,  however,  none  of  these  ele- 
ments are  in  reach  of  the  mould?  Then  the  mould,  dis- 
solving in  water  in  the  form  of  a  dark  powder,  filters  down 
to  the  subsoil,  where  it  lies  until  plowed  up  and  brought 
into  contact  with  air  and  water,  when  it  regains  its  activity 
in  dissolving,  or  rather  uniting  with  the  earth,  and  metallic 


A   WOED   ABOUT   MANURES.  295 

salts     It  is  in  this  form  known  to  chemists  as  vegetable 
mould. 

"We  see,  then,  that  the  fertile  elements  do  not  consist  en- 
tirely of  mould,  there  must  be  some  inorganic  substances 
mixed  with  the  mould  to  make  a  fertile  soil.  The  inor- 
ganic substances,  it  may  be  proper  to  say,  are  the  dust  of 
rocks  and  metals. 

Fertile  soil,  then,  is  composed  of  a  combination  of  or- 
ganic and  inorganic  matters.  A  clay  bank,  (inorganic  mat- 
ter), will  grow  nothing.  A  pile  of  rotton  wood,  (organic 
matter),  will  grow  mosses,  but  no  higher  plants.  Combine 
the  two,  however,  in  suitable  proportions,  and  any  kind  of 
plant  will  spring  up  luxuriantly.  Spread  a  heavy  coat 
of  stable  manure  on  land  and  everything  burns  up;  this 
is  from  the  presence  of  a  powerful  alkali,  (ammonia),  that 
destroys  vegetation  by  its  acrid  quality. 

A  neighbor  thought  he  had  a  treasure  house  in  a  great 
heap  of  saw-dust  left  on'  his  land  by  a  mill.  He  poured 
wagon  load  after  wagon  load  of  it  on  his  garden.  What 
was  the  result?  Such  a  mass  of  mould  extracted  large 
amounts  of  oxygen  from  the  air,  and  acids  were  formed 
freely,  making  the  land  sour.  Nothing  would  grow,  and 
he  lost  the  use  of  his  garden  for  three  or"  four  years,  and 
then  it  was  good  enough.  Had  he  known  it,  lime  spread 
over  it  would  have  sweetened  the  soil,  and  he  would  have 
had  a  garden,  rich  in  vegetable  mould,  all  the  three  or  four 
years.  So,  it  may  be  seen,  the  soil  is  a  great  laboratory,  in 
which  constant  chemical  changes  are  taking  place.  Will 
we  aid  in  those  changes  and  hasten  the  result  to  our  ad- 
vantage, or  wait  the  slow  process  of  nature? 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  great  benefit  resulting  from 
a  union  of  theoretic  and  practical  farming.  In  no  branch 
of  agriculture  are  the  good  effects  better  seen  than  when  we 
begin  to  analyze  the  soil,  and  supply  whatever  deficiencies 
may  be  required.  It  will  be  interesting  to  know  how  the  ele- 


296  A    WORD    ABOUT   MANURES. 

ments  of  soil  act  on  each  other,  so  as  to  become   soluble, 
and,  therefore,  convertible  into  fertilizers. 

The  great  component  parts  of  soils  are  the  silicates, 
(sands,  quartz,  etc.),  salts,  (as  potash,  soda,  etc.),  metallic 
oxides  and  vegetable  mould.  Silica  exists  in  limestone 
rocks,  in  granite  and  in  all  sands.  These  silicates  are 
slowly  soluble,  but  elements  of  decay  though  slow  are 
constant,  and  mountains  have  crumbled  and  been  cast  as 
huge,  misshapened  masses  over  the  plains.  By  this  action 
salts  (soda,  and  potash)  are  freed  and  enter  the  soil,  or  are 
washed  away  into  the  ocean.  It  is  in  this  manner  that  the 
ocean  is  made  salty.  But  the  sand  is  left,  or  rather  the 
silex,  and  the  soil  is  made  more  friable  thereby.  But  sup- 
pose, instead  of  awaiting  the  action  of  nature,  we  intro- 
duce some  of  the  earthy  salts  into  the  soil,  lime,  for  in- 
stance. The  lime  acts  directly  on  the  silica,  forming  a 
silicate  of  lime  that  is  soluble.  Not  only  this,  but  the  car- 
bonic acid  that  is  in  the  silica  is  freed,  and  this  acts  on  other 
silicates,  freeing  their  salts,  and  thus  alumina  is  set  free, 
the  soil  is  impregnated  with  soda  and  potash,  and  instead 
of  sand  altogether,  clay  is  formed.  In  this  manner  sandy 
soils  are  greatly  improved  by  the  addition  of  limes,  either 
quicklime  slacked,  or  land  plaster,  which  is  the  sulphate. 
Some  think  this  will  impoverish  the  soil.  So  it  will,  if 
crops  are  raised  on  it,  and  so  will  crops  impoverish  any 
soil,  but  this  store  of  mineral  and  earthy  matters  is  useless 
if  allowed  to  remain  so,  and,  in  its  improved  condition,; 
nothing  is  taken  out — it  is  only  made  available  as  plant 
food.  Besides  the  supply  is  well  nigh  inexhaustible  when 
we  consider  that  less  than  two  per  cent,  has  supplied  all  the 
fertility  to  vegetation  in  all  the  past  ages.  It  is  not  to  be 
supposed  a  few  pounds  of  these  applications  will  make  the 
great  mass  of  soil  fertile.  By  no  means,  for  it  would  re- 
quire well  nigh  the  same  amount  of  solvents  as  the  matter 
to  be  dissolved.  Still,  it  will  enable  the  plants  to  get  food 
where  none  existed  before,  that  could  be  assimilated. 


A    WORD    ABOUT    MANURES.  297 

f 

These  free  alkalies  produced,  as  has  just  been  stated,  not 
only  benefit  plants  directly,  but  they  also  act  upon  the 
mould,  and  will  cause  its  decay.  Or,  more  properly  speak- 
ing, these  alkaline  earths  will  act  on  vegetable  fibre,  and 
change  it  into  geine,  which  is  synonymous  with  vegetable 
mould.  But  one  strange  thing-  is  that  this  change  in  the 
soil  is  not  apparent  until  a  living  body  is  applied.  It  is 
the  great  and  mysterious  effect  of  the  vital  principle,  with- 
out which  but  few  changes  are  noted. 

Were  all  the  matters  soluble,  and  constantly  in  a  condi- 
tion to  be  washed  out,  the  soil  would  soon,  by  the  effects  of 
water,  be  washed  away  and  be  deposited  in  the  bed  of  the 
ocean.  As  it  is,  it  is  a  great  storehouse  of  food,  that  none 
unlock  except  those  who  have  the  "  open  sesame." 

It  is  on  this  principle  that  plaster  acts  on  clover.  The 
plaster  is,  or  should  be,  scattered  on  the  plant  while  wet 
with  dews.  It  adheres  to  it  and  is  quickly  absorbed  into  its 
vessels  and  carried  to  the  roots  where  it,  in  the  remote  pene- 
tration of  the  rootlets,  comes  in  contact  with  the  elements 
of  the  soil.  Through  the  action  of  the  plant,  the  sulphur 
is  separated  from  the  lime,  and  then  both  are  prepared  to 
act  promptly.  The  result  is  a  wonderful  stimulation  to 
the  clover,  for  a  great  store  of  food  is  at  once  placed  at  its 
command.  In  the*  same  manner,  common  salt  acts.  There 
is  certainly  no  manure  in  salt,  no  plant  food,  yet  sprinkle 
a  small  quantity  on  plants,  and  by  them  it  is  decomposed, 
and  thejnuriatic  acid  and  soda  act  in  dissociating  other  ele- 
ments, and  the  result  is  great  benefit  to  the  plant. 

If  there  were  no  salts  nor  mould  in  the  soil,  there  would 
be  no  growth  of  plants.  Mould  is  essential  to  plants,  and 
without  salts  it  is  inert.  So  that  when  salts  are  active, 
mould  is  rendered  active,  and  this  will  continue  until 
one  or  the  other  is  exhausted.  Long  before  exhaustion 
takes'  place,  however,  the  plants  will  languish  and  fail,  so 
that  the  intelligent  farmer  must  add,  here  a  salt,  there 
mould,  and  then  by  prudent  management  forever  keep  up  his 


298  A   WORD  ABOUT   MANURES. 

fields  to  a  high  state  of  productiveness.  There  are  reasons 
for  all  these  assumptions,  but  space  forbids  their  mention. 

Many  things  contains  salts  available  to  the  agricul- 
turist. Lime,  ashes,  plaster  of  Paris,  (sulphate  of  lime), 
saltpetre,  common  salt,  phosphate  of  lime,  bone  dust,  coal 
ashes,  hair,  hoofs,  horns,  copperas  and  many  others.  Some 
of  these  substances  have  to  be  used  sparingly,  such  as  salt 
or  copperas,  but  all  are  beneficial  to  growing  plants. 

These  substances  act  chemically,  and  free  a  great  many 
inert  matters.  Growing  plants  absorb  vast  quantities  of 
carbonic  acid,  through  their  leaves,  and  carrying  it  down, 
throw  it  into  the  soil,  where  it  acts  upon  silica  and  allumi- 
na  freeing  salts  for  their  growth. 

Wood  and  coal  ashes  are  very  rich  in  the  salts,  and  furn- 
ish one  of  the  cheapest  and  best  additions  that  can  be  made 
to  land.  Coal  ashes  are  not  so  rich  in  the  various  salts, 
but  contain  enough  to  merit  a  better  fate  than  is  generally 
awarded  them. 

The  composition  of  wood  ashes  is  as  follows : 

200  parts  of  unleached  wood  ashes  contain, 

Carbonic  acid, 58.53 

Sulphuric  acid, 6.43 

Phosph oric  acid, 3.40 

Muriatic  acid, * 1.82 

Lime, 50.35 

Magnesia, 4.55 

Potash  and  soda, 67.96 

Silex, 5.22 

Oxide  iron, 50 

Oxide  Manganese, « 1.10 

Water, 14 

200.00 

Of  this  27.14  parts  are  soluble  at  once  in  water,  and 
leached  ashes  are  deprived  of  it,  and  the  balance,  %  172. 86 
parts  are  insoluble,  but  act  slowly  on  the  soil  freeing  various 


A   WORD  ABOUT   MANURES.  299 

substances  in  the  process  of  time.  Coal  ashes  contain  these 
same  ingredients  in  a  much  less  degree,  or  if  soil  is  entire- 
ly deprived  of  its  vegetable  mould,  it  is  identical  almost 
with  coal  ashes.  Each  hundred  pounds  contain  eight  pounds 
that  are  at  once  valuable  to  the  farmer,  and  another 
portion  has  a  prospective  value.  Coal  ashes  are  worth 
a  good  deal,  simply  as  a  mechanical  loosener  of  the 
soil.  Mixed  with  it,  in  even  small  proportions,  it  renders 
the  soil  friable  and  easily  worked. 

Having  now  explained  that  there  is  a  principle  called 
mould  or  geine,  and  that  this  principle  is  necessary  to 
fertility,  and  also,  that  this  principle  to  be  in  an  available 
form,  must  be  reacted  on  by  salts,  it  remains  to  inquire  the 
best  form  in  which  these  elements  are  united.  Practically, 
every  farmer  in  the  country  will  at  once  answer  stable  ma- 
nure. And,  as  is  generally  the  case,  practice  has  long  found 
out  what  science  seeks  a  reason  for.  A  careful  analysis  of 
cow  manure,  which  is  generally  accepted  as  the  unit  of  val- 
ue, shows  that  cow  dung  consists,  not  to  go  into  an  ultimate 
analysis,  of 

Water, 83.60 

Salts, 0.95 

Geine, \ 15.45 

This  seems  to  be  a  small  proportion  of  valuable  matter, 
only  one-sixth  of  the  whole  amount.  But  let  us  see  what 
a  careful  farmer  can  do  by  saving  for  a  year.  In  an  ex- 
periment, conducted  carefully  and  published  a  few  years 
ago,  an  average  cow  was  selected,  and  everything  she  ate 
or  drank  was  carefully  weighed,  as  well  as  all  the  voidings 
of  dung.  This  experiment  lasted  seven  days,  and  from  a 
calculation,  this  cow  would  have  made  in  one  year,  4,800 
pounds  geine,  71  pounds  bone  dust,  37  pounds  plaster,  37 
pounds  lime,  25  pounds  common  salt,  15  pounds  sulphate 
potash.  V<:: 

This,  carefully  saved,  furnishes  salts  of  lime  equal  to  four 
and  a  half  bushels  of  corn  daily,  or  1,662J  annually.  Not 


300  A    WORD    ABOUT   MANURES. 

only  is  this  amount  saved,  but  in  addition  the  nitrogen  that 
is  in  it,  by  chemical  affinity,  creates  a  large  amount  of  am- 
monia, that  is  fixed  and  amounts  in  a  year  to  677  pounds. 
To  the  nitrogen  is  due  much  of  the  excellence  of  this  stim- 
ulant, and  without  the  animal  matter  or  nitrogen,  it  would 
be  nothing  more  than  decayed  wood  and  salts.  It  is  a  com- 
mon idea  that  the  activity  of  stable  manure  is  due  entirely 
to  the  animal  excrements.  It  is  due  rather  to  the  happy 
combination  of  ammonia,  geine  and  salts, such  as  no  chemist 
can  manufacture  from  the  food  of  the  cow.  Were  this  pos- 
sible, a  pile  of  rotted  hay  and  turnips  would  supply  all 
these  united  elements.  But  effort  has  demonstrated  that  it 
cannot  be  done.  Nor  does  the  food  of  a  cow  affect,  but 
little,  the  elements  of  dung.  A  cow  fed  on  rich  nitrogen- 
ous food,  such  as  corn  or  oats,  will  give  some  more  nitro- 
gen in  the  dung,  and  form  more  ammonia,  but  the  salts 
and  geine  will  be  but  little  changed. 

Horse  dung  is  much  richer  in  manures  than  cow  dung. 
But  horse  dung  very  quickly  ferments,  and,  by  fermenta- 
tion, it  will  lose  one- third  its  value  in  one  month.  It  is 
therefore  very  necessary  to  remove,  as  often  as  possible,  the 
horse  dung  from  the  stable,  and  place  it  in  the  compost 
heap,  with  the  cattle  dung,  or  with  alternate  layers  of  soil 
and  sprinkled  with  lime  or  plaster.  These  salts  will  catch 
and  fix  the  escaping  ammonia  and  prevent  much  loss. 
After  horse  dung  has  fermented,  if  alone,  it  is  of  far  less 
value  than  cow  dung,  but  before  it  ferments,  it  is  much 
more  valuable.  When  that  process  is  completed  fully, 
nine-tenths  of  its  value,  according  to  our.  best  writers,  is 
lost.  These  are  statements  based  on,  not  only  experience 
and  observation,  but  also  on  absolute  chemical  analysis. 
How  much  it  stands  the  farmer  in  hand  then  to  observe  a 
systematic  saving  and  storing  of  these  treasures  of  agricultu- 
ral wealth !  A  compost  heap,  under  a  good  shelter,  is  to  the 
uninformed,  a  heap,  reeking  with  filth,  repulsive  to  the  eye 
and  offensive  to  the  olfactories.  But,  to  the  scientific  far- 


A   WORD   ABOUT  MANURES,  301 

mer,  it  is  a  bed  of  power.  In  it  are  contained  the  yellow 
grain  and  the  luscious  fruit;  over  it  hovers  the  spirit  of  the 
rose  and  the  lily,  and  sweet  odors  are  stored  in  it,  to  make 
the  fragrant  pink  and  the  delicious  heliotrope.  Let  every 
consideration  of  economy  and  enterprise,  stimulate  the  far- 
mer, then,  to  save  every  waste  of  the  farm.  The  Chinese 
are  so  sensible  of  the  importance  of  manure,  in  a  country 
teeming  with  an  over-population,  where  the  soil  is  tasked 
to  its  utmost  to  carry  its  population,  they  even  save  the 
parings  of  their  finger  and  toe  nails  to  add  to  its  fertility. 
The  farmer  has  a  wonderful  bank  to  draw  upon  for  this 
purpose.  Cattle  and  horse  dung  and  urine,  the  scrapings 
of  the  barn-yard  after  every  rain,  straw,  stalks,  leaves  of 
the  forest,  drifts  on  the  banks  of  streams,  all  contrib- 
ute their  share  in  the  general  enrichment  of  the  farm. 
And  any  one  would  be  surprised  at  the  amount  accumula- 
ted for  the  spring  scattering,  if  systematically  carried  on 
for  one  year,  It  requires  but  a  little  time  too,  if  a  regular 
time  be  given  to  it.  Regularity  and  system  are  the  great 
watch  wards  of  improvement. 

Millions  of  dollars  are  annually  wasted,  by  burning  ^traw 
and  stalks,  which,  if  carried  to  the  stables  and  barn-yard, 
would  act  as  solvents,  to  catch  this  daily  waste.  If  the 
ashes,  resulting  from  the  burning  straw,  were  as  good  ma- 
nure as  the  straw  itself,  then  burning  would  not  be  waste- 
ful. But  a  large  amount  of  valuable  matter  goes  into  the 
air  as  gases,  besides  much  is  blown  away  by  the  winds.  A 
Mr.  Lawes,  of  England,  determined  this  matter  of  burning 
manure  in  an  experiment,  that  was  both  fair  and  positive. 
He  took  28  tons  of  yard  manure  and  divided  it;  14  tons 
were  reduced  by  fire,  leaving  32  cwt.  of  ashes.  He  then 
scattered  the  14  tons  of  manure  left,  on  one  acre  of  land, 
and  the  32  cwt.  of  ashes  on  another  acre  of  land,  and  left 
another  acre  without  any  application.  He  cultivated  them 
all  well  and  alike. 

The  manured  acre  made   22  bushels  of  wheat,  the  ashed 


i 

302  A   WOKD   ABOUT   MANUKES. 

acre,  made  16.  and  the  unmanured  acre  made  16  bushels. 
This  proves  that  the  more  nitrogen  manure  contains  in 
combination  with  the  salts,  the  more  value  it  has. 

Night  soil,  or  the  excrement  of  human  beings,  is  next  to 
chicken  manure,  the  richest  and  most  stimulating  of  all 
manures.  Then  come  that  of  fattening  hogs  and  sheep(- 
horses  and  cows.  But,  as  before  stated,  the  disposition  to 
waste  is  so  great,  that  the  "cold"  manures,  as  that  of  cows, 
sheep  and  hogs,  are  more  available  to  the  farmer  than  the 
more  active  ones  of  man  and  horse.  The  analysis  of  the 
different  manures  are  given  in  the  table  below.  This  table 
and  the  three  following,  are  taken  from  American  Ma- 
nures by  Dr.  Bruckner. 


Phosphoric 

Water.  acid.        Potash.  Nitrogen.  Ammonia. 

Pig     Dung 840  Ibs.  8. 0  Ibs      5. 0  Ibs,       7. 0  Ibs  8. 5  Ibs. 

Horse      " 743  "  12.2  "  28.0  "        5.4  "  6.5 

Cow         " 864  "  5.2  "  10.7"         3.5"  4.2 

Chicken  " 850  "  15.2  "        5.5"  21.5   *<  26.1 

Sheep      " 670"  22.7"       7.0"        7.1"  8.5 

Human    "..           ..750"  3.3"        1.0"  15.0"  182 


The  following  table  shows  about  the  amount  produced 
annually  by  a  single  animal  of  the  kind  named,  and  its 
value,  assuming  the  phosphoric  acid  to  be  soluble,  and  the 
nitrogen  as  actual  ammonia. 


Phosphoric 

Amount.          acid.         Potash.        Ammonia       Value, 
pig 200  Ibs         1.6  Ibs.        1.0  Ibs.  1.7  Ibs. 


Horse 2,000 

Cow 2,000 

Chicken 5 

Sheep 50 

Human  100 


24.4 

10.4 

0.076 

1.27 

0.33 


56.0     "  13.0    «•  9.94 

21  0     "  8.5     "  5.15 

0.03  "  0.13  "  04 

0.35  '  0.42  :«  .40 

0.10  "  1.80  "  .50 


We,now  give  the  value  of  the  urine  of  different  animals, 
as  shown  by  the  fertilizing  salts  contained  in  1,000  pounds 
of  each: 


A   WOKD   ABOUT    MANURES.  303 


Phosphoric 

Water. 

acid. 

Potash 

"Nitrogen. 

Ammonia. 

Pig  Urine 

..9.29  Ibs. 

trace 

6.0  Ibs. 

11.8  Ihs. 

14.3  Ibs. 

Horse      ".... 

..9.40    k< 

trace. 

2.8    " 

15.4   " 

18.7    lt 

Cow         ".... 

..0.23    •' 

trace, 

45    '• 

44    " 

5.3    u 

Sheep      " 

<>  65    " 

1.3  Ibs. 

7.2    « 

13.1     ' 

15.9    ** 

Human    u 

..9.57    " 

4.0    " 

2.0     ' 

14.2    " 

17.2    " 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  produced  annually 
by  a  single  animal  of  the  kind  named,  and  its  value  as  ma- 
nure, when  fermented: 

Yearly  Phosphoric 

amount.  acid.  Potash  Ammonia.  Value. 

Pig  Urine  ......  1,000  Ibs.  trace,  6.0  Ibs.  14.3  Ibs.  $4.00 

Horse        *  ......  2000    "  trace,  5.0    «  37.4    "  9.79 

Cow         •«  ......  2,000    "   .       trace,  9.0    •'  8.8    •«  2.92 

Sheep      "  ......     500    u  O.Gibs.  3.6    "  8.0    "  2.35 

Human  •<  .....  750  "  3.0  "  1.5  <l  10.7  "  3.16 

Says  Dr.  Bruckner:     "The  sold   and    liquid  excretions 
taken  together,  will  show  the  following  annual  value  : 
Pig  excrements,  solid  and  liquid  ...........................  $  4.62 

Horse         "  "  "      ..........................   19.73 

Cow  "  "  "      .........................  .     8.07 

Sheep         "  "  «       ..........................     2.75 

Human      "  "  "      ..........................     3.66 

From  these  tables,  it  is  plain  that  too  much  care  cannot 
be  exercised  in  preserving  the  excrements  of  man  and  ani- 
mals. Every  pound  of  ammonia  that  is  lost  or  evaporates, 
represents  the  amount  required  for  a  bushel  of  corn  ;  and 
every  pound  of  the  urine  of  a  horse  or  man,  will  furnish 
sufficient  ammonia  for  a  pound  of  wheat;  and  two  and  a 
half  pounds  of  the  urine  of  man  will  furnish  the  phospho- 
ric acid,  and  more  than  half  of  the  potash  required  for  a 
pound  of  wheat." 

It  then  remains  for  us  to  make  the  application  of  these 
remarks,  and  every  right-thinking  man  will  see  at  once  the 
importance  of  gathering  up  and  saving.  It  is  money  in  his 
pocket.  One  man  will  burn  a  few  bushels  of  soil,  and  set- 
ting it  near  the  privy,  will  throw,  every  day,  a  few  hands- 


304  A  WOED  ABOUT  MANURES. 

ful  on  the  pile  of  excrement,  and  in  a  few  months  he  will 
fill  his  barrels  with  the  -most  valuable  pondrette,  that  an- 
other man  will  go  to  the  city  and  pay  a  large  price  for. 
One  man  will  set  a  few  barrels  of  ashes  in  a  convenient 
place,  and  cause  the  house-cleaner  to  empty  the  urine  of  the 
night  into  them.  In  a  few  months  he  will  have  his  ashes 
thoroughly  saturated  with  salts,  and  organic  matter  the 
most  valuable, 

In  England,  farmers  do  not  consider  it  any  hardship  to 
dig  cisterns,  in  which  to  save  all  the  liquid  excrements  of 
the  cows  and  horses,  and  with  a  water  cart,  spread  it  over 
their  pastures  and  meadows. 

Many  object  to  the  use  of  human  excrement,  on  account 
of  its  offensive  ness.  This  can  be  easily  prevented,  and  at 
the  same  time  by  an  agent  that,  is  a  valuable  addition  to 
the  manure  heap.  The  sulphate  of  iron  (copperas),  is  a 
powerful  deodoriser,  and  a  few  cents  worth  added  to  the 
night  soil  will  deprive  it  of  any  offensive  smell  for  a  length 
of  time,  sufficiently  long  to  remove  it. 

A  great  many  bones  are  wasted  on  every  farm  that  make 
valuable  manure,  and  are  easily  prepared  for  use.  Let  a 
barrel  be  devoted  to  bones,  and  whenever  a  bone  is  thrown 
into  it,  cover  it  up 'with  unleached  ashes.  Let  the  barrel 
stand  in  the  weather  and  in  a  few  months  the  bones  will  be 
so  friable  they  may  Tbe  easily  broken  and  converted  into  an 
unadulterated  bone  dust,  better  than  can  be  bought  in  any  of 
the  agricultural  stores.  Or  if  he  cannot  wait  this  slow 
process,  they  are  easily  burned  and  crushed. 

In  making  soap,  much  fine  phosphate  of  lime  is  thrown 
out  in  the  shape  of  hall  eaten  bones  and  in  spent  lye. 
Soap  suds  are  also  a  fine  addition  to  the  manure  or  compost 
heap.  In  these  are  found,  not  only  the  alkalis  of  soda  and 
potash,  but  also  much  nitrogenous  matter  in  the  shape  of 
grease.  All  these  assist  in  enriching  our  heap. 

No  farm  yard  is  without  the  best  guano/  It  is  trne.  the 
guano  of  the  shops  is  from  sea  birds,  whose  food  is  fish,  but 


A   WORD   ABOUT  MANURES.  305 

the  guano  of  the  chicken  house  is  exceedingly  valuable  and 
well  worth  saving.  Mixing  it  with  soil  or  ashes  and  sow- 
ing it  over  a  garden  plat,  rather  thinly,  for  it  is  very  rich, 
its  effects  are  seen  to  the  row.  However,  the  dung  of  fowls 
and  especially  of  pigeons  is  best  applied  in  the  form  of 
solution.  It  is  not  so  apt  to  burn  up  the  plant  in  this 
manner.  One  part  of  manure  to  ten  parts  of  water  will 
make  a  fine  wash  for  vines,  or  for  fruit  trees  it  is  unex- 
celled. Another  addition  to  the  heap  is  skins,  carrion 
either  of  animals  or  fowls,  scales  of  fishes,  hair,  hoofs,  and 
in  fact  every  kind  of  animal  substance  that  may  come  with- 
in reach  that  is  worthless.  Instead  of  dragging  off  dead 
horses  or  cows,  as  an  attraction  for  buzzards  and  dogs,  cut 
them  up  and  let  them  add  to  the  manure  heap.  In  this 
way  a  valuable  addition  will  be  made. 

Among  the  richest  of  all  manures,  not  excepting  animal 
matters  even,  is  soot.  It  is  not  only  rich  in  salts,  but  in 
geine.  It  is  said  there  are  as  much  salts  in  100  Ibs  of  soot, 
as  there  are  in  one  ton  of  cow  dung.  Nothing  is  better 
for  vegetables,  than  an  application  of  water  with  soot 
dissolved  in  it.  Besides,  bugs  are  not  fond  of  it,  and  it 
drives  them  away.  Throw  all  the  soot  of  the  chimneys, 
by  all  means,  on  the  heap,. 

Sheep  dung  is  one  of  our  finest  manures,  and  what  is 
better,  the  animals  do  the  spreading  themselves.  A  worn- 
out  meadow  or  pasture  if  given  to  sheep,  and  they  are  kept  in 
it  any  length  of  time,  will  be  restored  to  its  pristine  fertility. 
It  is  said  that  1000  sheep  run  on  a  piece  of  ground  one 
year  will  make  the  soil  capable  of  yielding  grain  enough, 
over  and  above  the  capacity  of  the  soil  without  the  sheep 
manure,  to  support  1035  sheep  an  entire  year.  Unless  the 
sheep  are  nightly  folded,  however,  the  manure  cannot  be 
gathered.  If  it  can  be  collected,  put  it  on  the  pile,  by  all 
means. 

We  have  now  enumerated  the  principal  sources  whence  a 
farmer  can  draw  his  supplies  without  drawing  upon  his 
20 


306  A  WOED  ABOUT  MANURES. 

pocket.  Many  kinds,  under  our  system  of  farming,  are 
unavailable  to  the  farmer.  I  mean  the  liquids.  Without 
floors  to  the  stables  and  pig-pens,  the  urine,  which  is  the 
richest  of  manures,  so  far  as  salts  are  concerned,  is  wasted. 
But  he  can  save  his  own,  and  the  excrements  of  one  man, 
properly  saved  for  one  year,  will  well  manure  one  acre  of 
land.  Why  let  these  rivers  of  wealth  flow  away  from  the 
farm  ?  He  prefers  going  to  the  shops  and  buying  worse 
than  he  can  prepare  on  his  farm. 

There  are  many  artificial  manures  for  sale.  Plasters 
from  Kentucky  and  Virginia;  phosphate  of  lime  from 
South  Carolina ;  bone  dust  from  the  large  cities,  and  many 
other  mixtures  and  compounds.  But  scarcely  a  farmer  but 
what  has  at  his  command  a  manure,  rich  in  every  respect 
and  with  the  addition  of  a  cheap  alkali,  equal  in  chemical 
properties  to  cow  dung:  I  mean  the  scrapings  of  ponds,  and 
the  mud  of  rivers  and  creeks.  West  Tennessee  has  an  area 
containing  pure  muck,  the  balance  of  the  State  has  no  such 
advantage ;  but  next  to  muck,  and  nearly  as  valuable,  is 
pond  and  river  mud.  By  the  addition  of  two  pounds  of 
sal  soda  or  potash,  such  as  is  used  for  washing  purposes,  to 
100  Ibs  of  muck,  the  mass  becomes,  as  near  as  possible,  cow 
dung.  So  here  we  have  an  almost  inexhaustible  supply  of 
oow  dung,  without  its  smell  or  offensiveness.  The  green 
sand  beds  in  West  Tennessee  also  will  supply  fertilizers  in 
unlimited  quantities. 

Here  then,  the  provident  farmer  has  all  that  is  requisite 
to  enrich  his  grounds  before  seeding  to  grass.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  that  clover,  as  a  preceding  crop  to  land  that  is 
about  to  enter  the  long  and  tedious  travail  of  meadow,  is 
absolutely  requisite.  But  after  it  is  started,  the  farmer  need 
not  think,  for  one  moment,  that  grass  adds  to  its  fertility. 
It  does  not,  but  on  the  other  hand,  detracts  just  what  the 
farmer  cuts  off;  and  if  he  is  a  wise  farmer,  he  will  put 
it  back  in  a  shape  to  increase  his  drafts  on  it. 

When  a  meadow  or  pasture  becomes  packed,  from  too 


A  WOED  ABOUT  MANUEES.  307 

much  pasturage,  it  will  be  well  enough  to  run  a  subsoil 
through  it  occasionally.  This  loosens  the  under  sod,  and 
the  narrow  helve  does  not  tear  up  the  turf.  Of  course  the 
land  has  been,  if  required,  well  drained.  In  addition  to 
this,  for  the  renovation  of  such  lands,  the  application  of 
manures  is  indispensable.  It  should  be  applied  immediately 
after  a  cutting,  as  it  will  stimulate  the  roots,  made  weak  by 
being  deprived  of  their  foliage,  to  renewed  growth,  and 
prevent  much  of  it  from  dying.  Of  course  it  must  be  done 
by  top  dressing,  and  by  far  the  most  efficaceous  plan  is  to 
apply  it  in  the  liquid  form.  It  may  be  done  by  diluting 
the  manure  with  from  five  to  ten  parts  of  water,  and  using 
a  cart,  such  as  is  used  for  sprinkling  streets.  Another, 
and  the  most  common  way,  is  to  drive^  through  the  meadow 
with  a  load  of  good  compost;  such  as  we  have  described, 
and  with  two  hands  in  the  rear  of  the  wagon  with  shovels, 
it  can  be  scattered  broadcast  as  fast  as  the  team  will  walk. 

A  few  years  ago,  a  machine  for  scattering  manure  was 
invented,  by  John  W.  York,  of  Williamson  County,  and  if 
that  machine  could  be  sold  at  a. reasonable  price,  it  would 
save  the  most  tiresome  labor  of  the  farm.  It  should  by  all 
means  be  so  simplified  as  to  reduce  the  expense,  and  place 
it  within  the  reach  of  every  farmer.  With  such  a  machine,, 
scattering  or  drilling  manure  would  be  a  work  of  no  more 
labor  than  drawing  up  a  load  of  wood,  not  as  much. 

Pastures  treated  to  a  top-dressing  after  every  cutting, 
could,  like  the  English  pastures,  instead  of  three  acres  to 
the  ox,  feed  three  oxen  to  one  acre,  and  the  meadows  would 
not  yield  a  scanty  ton  to  the  acre,  but  we  could  continue  to 
cut  until  stopped  by  cold  weather.  An  English  tenant  will 
pay  ten  pounds  ($50)  rent  per  acre  for  meadows,  and  will 
get  always  two,  frequently  three,  crops  per  year,  yielding 
from  three  to  five  tons  per  acre.  We  could  do  this  also 
by  following  the  same  system  of  farming,  and  that  is,  to 
run  the  manure  wagon  constantly. 


308 


A  WORD  ABOUT   MANURES. 


The  following  Table  arranged  by  Ijjzra  E.  Adams,  of  the  N.  H. 
Agricultural  College,  will  show  the  amount  of  water,  organ- 
ic matter,  nitrogen,  and  mineral  ingredients  in  given  quanti- 
ties of  natural  and  manufactured  fertilizers. 


IN  1,000  POUNDS  OF 

£ 

«H 

O 

Of  organic  matter. 

o 

o 
rt 

1U 

oD  Q 

'8  s 
5 

PRINCIPAL  ASH  INGE'NTS. 

M 

3 
£ 

S 

i 

OJ 

A 
1 

"d 
1 

0 

1 

^ 

PH 

"d 

1 
£ 
*g 

jS, 
cc 

O 

O 

o 

O 

O 

Animal  excre'nt,  fresh  are 
"  excrement  rotted   ' 
Dung-heap  liquid  • 
Faeces  fresh  ' 

710 
790 
982 
772 
963 
933 

14.8 
14.0 
6.0 
6.0 
10.0 
15.0 
2.6 
15.0 
16-0 
4.0 
2.6 
20.0 
7.0 
5.0 
20.0 
5.0 

246 
145 
7 
198 
24 
51 

51.4 
79.0 
33.3 
10.0 
9,2 
6.2 
5.4 
2.5 
41-9 

*L8 

5.0 

5.0 
5.0 

4.5 
5.8 
1.5 
10.0 
60 
7.0 

13.0 
11.7 
38 
1.0 

S8 

.1 

5.2 
5.0 
4.9 
2.5 
2.0 
2.1 

2.3 
.7 
.2 
.1 
.3 

1.5 
1.3 
1.0 
1.6 
4.6 
3.8 

1.4 
.6 

.3 
.3 
.6 
.1 

5.7 
8.8 
0.3 
6.2 
.2 
.9 

11.0 
.7 
31.3 
43.0 
46.0 
25.9 
37.5 
17.0 
9.5 
.5 
.2 
31.0 
64.5 
32.5 
24.5 

1.4 
1.8 
.4 
36 
.4 
.6 

1.2 
.1 
1.0 
1.1 
1  2 
.9 
.6 
.3 
1.0 

.1 
1.5 
5.5 
2.5 
3  0 

2.4 
3.0 
.1 
10,9 
1.7 
2.6 

13.0 
1.0 
23.2 
320 
35.4 
21.8 
33.2 
15.4 
10.5 

5.5 
6.0 
1 

1  2 

1-3 
.7 
.8 
.4 
.5 

1  0 
.4 
•1 
.4 
.4 
28.5 
.5 
19.5 
15.0 
58.0 
.7 
44.0 
12.5 
1.6 
.3 
5  0 

Human  urine  • 
Night  soil,  fresh             { 

IN  100  POUNDS  OF 
Peruvian  guano  are 

Dried  Blood                 " 

Bone  meal,  av  '& 

Bone  black,  fresh....  " 
Baker  guano  " 

super-phosphate.  " 
Navassa  phosphate..  »' 
super-phosphate.  " 
Rectified  P.  guano.  ..  " 
Sal.  ammonia  ** 

10.0 
20.0 
15.5 

".4 

20 

.2 

8.0 
2.5 
.1 

1.2 

35.0 

'2.8 
1.3 
,1 

Nitrate  Soda                 '• 

Plaster  " 

Gas  lime                        '  ' 

Ashes,  av  " 

Leached  ashes  u 

Coal  ashes.  .               .  4t 

Silica  and  small  amounts  of  other  ingredients  not  named. 


A   WORD   ABOUT    MANURES. 


309 


Ihis  Table  indicates  the  various  elements  of  plant  food  re- 
moved from  the  soil  by  crops,  as  given  by  Prof.  Atwater,  in 
Connecticut  Report. 


CROPS  AND  AMOUNT 

LBS.  AND  DECIMALS  OF 

T3 
1 

.2 

I 

& 
02 

•T3 

1 

o 

i 

fi 

j 

| 

1- 

Nitrogen. 

RYE. 
Grain,  25  bushels  —  1,400  Ibs  

.3 
3.8 

4.1 

.4 
2.6 

3.0 

1 
3.3 

3.4 

.6 
7.8 

8.4 
7.2 
5.4 

11  8 
7.3 

19-1 

60 

3.8 

9.8 

9.5 
66 

.7 
12.2 

12.9 

1.0 

7.2 

2.9 

3.9 

7.8 
27.3 

35.1 

4.2 
17.8 

22.0 

64 

18.9 

25  3 

10.4 
62.4 

72.8 
39.6 
51.3 

24.6 
14.0 

38.6 

18.4 
11.2 

29.6 

25  0 
14.4 

39.4 

44.8 
31.2 

76.0 
46.5 
30.6 

Straw,  3,500  Ibs.     . 

Total  by  whole  crop  

6.8 

1.8 

3.2 

5.0 

2.4 

3.3 

OATS. 

• 

Grain,  30  bushels  —  960  Ibs 

Straw,  2  000  Ibs  

Total  by  whole  crop 

8.2 

'.i 

8.1 

8.8 

.8 
26.0 

WHEAT 
Grain,  20  bushels  —  1  200  Ibs 

Straw,  3,000  Ibs  

Total  by  whole  crop  

16.1 

16.5 
34.5 

51.0 
12.3 
14.4 

5.7 

5.6 
16.9 

22.5 
9.9 
3.6 

COEN. 
Grain,  50  bushels  —  2,800  Ibs  

Stalks,  6,500  Ibs  

Total  by  whole  crop  .  .  . 

26.8 
25.8 
1.8 

HAY. 

Mixed  grasses,  1£  tons  —  3,000  Ibs  
POTATOES. 
Tubers,  150  bushels—  9,000  Ibs.  . 

31  0  CEEEAI^. 


THE   CEREALS. 


VI. 


Though  this  work  is  intended  to  be  a  treaties,  especially  on  grasses, 
yet,  from  the  structure  and  conformation  of  their  parts,  the  cereals  are, 
botanically  speaking,  included  hi  the  list. 

In  a  work  of  this  kind,  intended  as  a  hand-booK  for  the  farmer,  the 
description  of  these  cereals  would  come  properly  before  them,  a* 
useful  additions  only  to  such  knowledge  as  they  already  possess,  and, 
though  the  experience  of  every  man  in  the  State  may  embrace  the  cul- 
tivation of  cereals,  yet  there  are  some  whose  knowledge  has  not  yet  ex- 
tended to  the  history,  cultivation  and  care  of  all  of  them.  Beside?,  there 
are  always  many  beginners  in  the  noble  science  of  agriculture  who,  in 
the  ordinary  course  of  farming,  learn  some  things  by  observation  but 
mostly  by  experience — sometimes  disastrous  enough  to  dishearten' 
some,  deter  others.  Experience  is  always  a  costly  teacher  and  is  ft 
work  of  years.  To  such  this  part  is  commended,  hoping  they  may 
be  helped  over  those  difficulties'  by  which  so  many  have  become 
wrecked.  It  is  not  proposed  the  rules  here  laid  down  should  take  pre- 
cedence over  the  approved  plans  of  any  one,  but  he  may  add  the  hints 
here  given,  to  such  experimental  knowledge  he  already  possesses,  and 
thus  make  farming  a  success,  founded  upon  the  combined  facts  of 


CEREALS.  311 

many  here  given,  with  such  principles  as  have  already  been  established 
by  his  own  deductions. 

Scientific  or  theoretic  farming  has  been  brought  into  disrepute  too 
by  the  efforts  of  amateur  farmers  with  no  practical  experience, 
which  generally  end  in  failures.  Science  will  teach  many  things  of 
yital  importance  to  the  farmer,  but,  if  applied  improperly,  it  can  effect 
no  good  result.  In  agriculture  little,  and  seemingly  unimportant  dis- 
coveries are  valuable.  Nothing  is  to  be  dispised  which  may  lead  to  a 
rational  and  true  theory  of  agriculture;  this  can  only  lead  to  successful 
practice.  Practice,  founded  on  sound  principles,  can  be  taught  only 
by  a  knowledge  of  the  manner  in  which  the  elements  of  soil  affect  each 
other  and  vegetation.  This  knowledge  cannot  be  obtained  without 
the  application  of  theoretic  opinions.  The  opinions  of  merely  scientific 
men  may  be  wholly  theoretical;  but,  what  is  science  ? 

Sir  Humphrey  Davy  says,  "Refined  common  sense,  the  substitution 
of  rational  practice  for  unsound  prejudice." 

In  no  department  of  human  industry  is  there  so  great  a  demand  for 
the  union  of  theory  and  practice  as  in  agriculture.  -The  book  farmer 
and  the  practical  farmer  must  now  shake  hands.  They  must  harmonize 
their  differences  and  cease  taunting  each  other.  They  have  been  too 
long  wrestling  and  trying  to  get  each  other  down,  at  arms'  length,  but 
hi  the  close  embrace  necessary  for  a  throw  they  find  they  can  stand 
longer.  So  it  should  be ;  theory  and  practice  should  and  do  mutually 
support  each  other. 

The  theoretic  farmer  and  the  practical  farmer  aim  at  one  object.  The 
latter  is  employing  certain  means  to  affect  certain  ends;  the  former  un- 
folding the  laws  of  nature  which  limit  and  control  the  operations  which 
are  performed  to  effect  that  end.  Theory  may  teach  a  rational  and  suc- 
cessful practice;  this  last  may  lead  to  a  rational  theory  But  without  a 
knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature,  and  the  action  of  certain  elements  of 
the  soil  which  can  only  be  obtained  by  study,  the  practical  application 
of  science  to  agriculture  is  but  the  delirous  dream  of  fanatical  enthu  - 
siasts. 

The  different  cereals  will  now  be  taken  up  in  the  order  in  which  they 
are  named.  The  cereals,  we  may  premise,  are  all  annuals;  that  is,  they 
grow  and  mature  their  seeds  in  one  season,  and  then  die;  and,  to  per- 
petuate them,  they  must  be  planted  once  every  year. 


312  CEREALS. 

1.  Barley. 

2.  Broomcom. 

3.  Buckwheat. 

4.  Dhouro  corn. 

5.  Maize,  or  Indian  corn. 

6.  Oats. 

7.  Rice. 

8.  Rye. 

9.  Sorghum,  or  Sugar  Cane. 

Wheat,  the  chief  of  cereals,  is  excluded  from  this  list,  as  a  monograph 
has  already  been  issued  from  this  office  devoted  exclusively  to  wheat,  to 
which  the  reader  is  respectfully  referred. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

BARLEY — BROOMCORN. 

COMMON   BABLEY~(HordeMm  mlgare.) 

An  annual,  with  hollow  stems,  about  three  feet  high;  glumes  six,  at 
each  joint,  in  front  of  the  three  spikelets,  forming  an 
involucre  at  the  zigzag  points  of  the  rachis;  spikes 
dense,  the  three  spikelets  at  each  end  of  the  rachis  all 
with  a  fertile  flower ;  flowers  six  in  each  involucre; 
lower  pale  with  very  long  awn.  Flowers  in  May. 

Barley  has  a  longer  and  more  slender  seed 
than  wheat,  set  in  rougher,  stronger  chaff, 
and  has  a  very  much  longer  awn  or  beard. 
Anciently  a  barley-corn  formed  a  standard 
of  measurement,  the  average  length  of  one 
being  .345  of  an  inch.  The  weight  is  fifty 
pounds  to  the  bushel. 

There  are  four  varieties  of  barley,  viz:  Hor- 
deum  vulgare  or  Spring  Barley,  Hordeum  distichum  or  Two- 
Rowed  Barley,  Hordeum  hexastichumy  or  Six-Rowed  Bar- 


BARLEY. 


313 


and  Hordeum  zeocriton,  the  sprat  or  battledore  barley.  The 
first  named  is  used  generally  throughout  the  North,  and  is 
sown  in  the  spring,  while  in  the  South  it  is  sown  in  the 
autumn. 

The  grain  of  the  six-rowed  variety  is  much  smaller  than 
the  others;  but  the  yieid  is  larger. 
When  the  grain  is  deprived  of  its  husk 
by  a  mill  it  is  called  pot  barley  or 
Scotch  hulled.  If  the  skin  of  the  grain 
or  bran  is  taken  off,  it  is  then  white 
and  clear  looking,  and  is  called  pearl 
barley.  This  ground  into  flour  be- 
comes patent  barley. 

The  origin  of  barley  is  veiled  in  the 
misty  past,  and,  like  many  of  the 
cereals  is  unknown.  It  grows  wild  in 
Sicily,  as  also  in  Asia.  The  ancients 
claim  that  Isis  introduced  it  into 
Hexastichum.  Egypt  from  Asia  fifteen  hundred  years 
before  the  Christian  era,  while  Pliny  says  it  was  brought 
by  Ceres  from  Asia  when  she  returned  from  the  search  for 
Proserpine,  and  she  taught  its  use  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Sicily,  at  the  same  time  she  introduced  wheat  and  rye, 
hence  from  her  they  were  called  Cereals. 

Moses,  in  Genesis,  says,  "the  flax  and  the  barley  were 
smitten,  for  the  barley  was  in  the  ear,  and  the  flax  was  in 
the  boll;"  this  being  one  of  the  plagues  that  was  sent  on 
Pharaoh.  Pliny  says,  further,  it  was  the  first  food  of 
mankind.  That  it  formed  a  very  important  article  of 
human  diet  is  shown  by  the  high  estimation  in  which  it 
was  held  by  the  earlier  citizens  of  the  world.  God,  in  his 
promises  to  the  Isrealites,  speaks  of  the  goodly  heritage  he 
had  prepared  for  them:  "a  good  land;  a  land  of  brooks  of 
water,  of  fountains  and  depths  that  spring  out  of  the  valleys 
and  hills;  a  land  of  wheat  and  barley  and  vines  and  figtrees 
and  pomegranates;  a  land  of  oil  and  olive  and  honey;  a 


314 


CEREALS. 


land  wherein  thou  shalt  eat  bread  without  scarceness;  a  land 
whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out  of  whose  hills  thou  mayest 
dig  brass."  Barley  is  here  placed  with  all  that  is  good  and 
beautiful.  Gideon  heard  in  the  camp  of  the  enemy  one 
soldier  rehearsing  a  dream  to  his  fellow,  that  "a  cake  of 
barley  tumbled  into  the  host  of  Midean,  and  came  unto  the 
tent  and  smote  it  that  it  fell."  Ruth  also  gleaning  in  the 
fields  of  Boaz  until  evening,  and  at  night  winnowed  about 
an  ephah  of  barley,  which  is  about  eleven  gallons. 

It  was  a  legal  tender  among  the  Jews,  as  Solomon  paid 
Hiram,  of  Tyre,  in  part  with  barley,  as  did  also  the 
Ammonites  pay  tribute  to  Jotharn  in  barley  and  gold. 
Solomon  used  it  as  food  for  his  horses  and  dromedaries. 

By  this  it  will  be  seen  that  barley  has  been  in  use  from 
time  immemorial,  and  in  former  times  held  a  higher  place 
as  a  food  than  it  possesses  now. 

By  the  following  table  will  be  seen  a  comparative  analy- 
ses of  the  various  cereals. 


100  PARTS  OF 

4 

OQ 

1 

3 

'^"c  i 

l"| 

1 

r 

Cellulose. 

Mineral 
Substances. 

58.12 

22.75 

9.50 

261 

4.00 

3.02 

Eve          " 

65.65 

13.50 

12.00 

2.15 

4.10 

2.60 

65.43 

13.96 

10.00 

2.76 

4.75 

3.10 

Oats         "     

6054 

1439 

9  25 

550 

706 

325 

Corn         "     

67.55 

12.50 

4.00 

8.80 

5.90 

1.25 

Eice         " 

89.15 

7.05 

1.00 

.80 

3.00 

.90 

Barley  has  been  cultivated  in  this  country  from  its  ear- 
liest settlement,  as  in  the  proceedings  of  the  colony  at  Mar- 
tha's Vineyard  it  is  stated  that  barley  was  sown  in  1622,  and 
at  Jamestown  the  "London  Company"  sowed  it  in  1611 
and,  only  a  few  years  later,  it  was  shipped  from  the  Island 
of  Manhattan  to  Holland  by  the  Dutch  colonists. 

Little  need  be  said  about  the  cultivation  of  barley,  as  in 
most  respects  its  growth  and  harvesting  is  similar  to  wheat. 


BARLEY.  315 

It  should  be  sowed  either  in  the  very  early  fall  or  very 
early  spring.  Of  course  the  soil  should  be  thoroughly 
plowed  and  pulverized;  The  land  is  greatly  improved  by 
subsoiling.  By  sowing  in  the  latter  part  of  August  or 
early  in  September  a  large  amount  of  pasturage  will  be 
available  for  the  winter.  Some  farmers  sow  it  with  the 
last  plowing  of  corn,  in  the  latter  part  of  July.  If  the  field 
is  accessible  to  stock,  it  makes  but  little  difference  how  early 
in  the  latter  part  of  summer  it  goes  in  the  ground,  but  if 
not  pastured  it  will  be  liable  to  joint.  The  kind  of  soil 
best  adapted  to  barley  is  a  light,  rather  sandy  loam,  rich 
and  deep.  Cold,  wet,  heavy  soils  will  not  produce  it  at  all, 
as  it  will  be  more  or  less  winter-killed.  It  will  not  pay  a 
farmer  to  sow  it  on  old,  worn-out  land;  his  expectations  will 
always  meet  with  disappointments.  The  land  must  be 
good.  The  quantity  sown  to  the  acre  varies  according  to 
the  soil.  On  good,  mellow,  rich  land,  from  two  to  two  and 
a  half  bushels  to  the  acre  will  do,  but  on  thinner  land  it 
will  require  more  than  that,  as  it  does  not  tiller  as  well  as 
wheat.  This  is  for  broadcast  sowing.  With  a  drill  it  will 
require  much  less.  Great  care  should  be -exercised  in  the 
selection  of  seeds,  as  it  easily  spoils  if  exposed  to  too  much 
moisture,  and  the  grain  becomes  dark  or  reddish  Good 
seed  should  be  of  a  pale  hue,  lively  and  uniform.  Good 
seeds  will,  throw  up  strong,  vigorous  stems,  capable  of  re- 
sisting any  extreme  of  weather,  and  will  ultimately  grow 
with  more  luxuriance  and  strength  than  if  the  seeds  are 
deficient. 

CUTTING. 

The  time  of  harvesting  must  be  closely  watched,  as  more 
care  is  necessary  at  this  period  of  its  culture  than  at  any  other 
time,  and  a  little,  very  little,  remissness  now-  will  cause  the 
the  farmer  to  lose  his  labor.  It  should  not  be  allowed  to 
get  very  ripe,  and  yet  it  should  be  ripe.  The  best  way  is 
"to  wait  until  the  longitudinal  red  streaks  on  the  grain 
disappear,  the  head  begins  to  hang  down,  and  the  straw 


316  CEREALS. 

assumes  a  golden  hue;"  so  says  the  London  Field.  It  is 
very  apt  to  be  destroyed  by  wet  weather,  on  account  of  the 
great  amount  of  water  held  by  the  long  beard  and  the 
abundant  husk  on  the  grain,  and  then  its  value  as  a  malt- 
maker  is  destroyed.  Hence  it  should  not  be  stored  until 
perfectly  dry.  It  should  not,  for  the  same  reason,  be 
shocked  until  the  dew  is  off.  The  best  plan  is  to  thresh 
before  stacking,  but  if  that  is  impracticable,  let  it  be  tied 
in  small  bundles  and  loosely  shocked,  or  put  into  hand- 
stacks,  and  be  extremely  careful  as  to  the  capping.  Let  it 
be  done  so  as  to  exclude  every  particle  of  moisture,  and  let 
it  be  threshed  as  soon  as  possible.  When  the  heads  once 
get  wet,  a  stain  appears,  that  will  lower  the  grade  and  im- 
pair its  value. 

In  threshing  also,  much  care  must  be  maintained,  as  the 
embryos  of  the  grain  are  easily  knocked  off,  which  will  pre- 
vent it  from  sprouting,  and  therefore,  it  cannot  be  used  for 
beer.  So  the  thresher  must  be  run  light,  with  fewer  spikes 
than  for  wheat.  After  separation  from  the  straw,  it  must 
be  noticed  daily  to  prevent  heating,  and  it  is  better  to  spread 
it  and  stir  frequently  and  sell  as  soon  as  dry. 

Barley  is  capable  of  being  cultivated  in  a  greater  diver- 
sity of  climates  than  any  of  the  cereals.  On  a  very  slight 
elevation  near  the  Equator,  it  has,  and  is,  successfully  raised, 
and  there  two  crops  a  year  are  secured,  while  it  has  also 
been  cultivated  in  the  frigid  regions.  Linua3us  found 
it  growing  in  Lapland"  in  latitude  67°  20',  where  the 
barley  was  harvested  on  the  28th  of  July,  having  been  in 
the  ground  only  six  weeks.  A  gentleman  in  England 
sowed  at  the  rate  of  five  pecks  on  an  acre  on  the  4th  of  Feb- 
ruary, and  on  the  4th  of  July  harvested  and  secured  fifty- 
two  bushels  and  two  pecks  per  acre.  In  both  extremes 
of  temperature  it  matures  with  astonishing  rapidity,  thus 
escaping  the  droughts  of  summer  and  the  frosts  of  winter. 

Barley  takes  from  the  soil  a  large  proportion  of  mineral 
substances  almost  equal  t*  wheat,  and  therefore  it  is  necessary 


BARLEY.  317 

that  these  substances,  such  as  lime,  magnesia,  potash,  phos- 
phates, etc.,  should  be  applied  to  land  sown  with  it- 
This  is  conveniently  supplied  in  the  form  of  ashes,  land 
plaster,  liquid  manure,  etc.  Wolff's  analysis  shows  Barley 
to  contain  albuminoids,  10,5;  starch,  50.3;  gum  and  sugar, 
5.5;  fat,  2.0;  bran  and  crude  fibre,  13.6;  ash,  3.8;  water, 
15.7. 

The  quality  of  the  grain  is  judged  of  by  the  quantity  of 
water  it  absorbs  when  steeped  in  it;  100  parts  of  good 
barley  gaining  47  parts  of  water.  The  old  physicians  used 
barley  water  very  extensively  in  their  practice,  in  febrile  or 
inflammatory  diseases,  it  being  at  once  a  cooling,  soothing 
drink  and  possessing  marked  nutrient  qualities. 

It  yields  largely  per  acre;  in  Great  Britain,  the  average 
crop  of  the  kingdom  being  from  30  to  48  bushels  per  acre, 
while  in  the  United  States,  it  often  reaches  60  bushels  per 
acre.  It  is  raised  throughout  the  United  States,  sparingly 
in  the  South,  extensively  in  the  North.  In  California,  the 
crop  of  1870,  reached  4,415,426  bushels.  It  will  grow  there 
four  or  five  years  with  one  sowing,  and  yield  good  crops 
every  year.  In  New  York,  in  the  same  year,  the  crop  was 
4,186,668  bushels;  in  Ohio,  1,663,868;  in  Illinois,  1,036,- 
388;  Maine,  802,108;  Wisconsin,  707,307;  Pennsylvania, 
530,714,  and  Tennessee,  75,068.  The  Average  crop  for  that 
year  in  the  United  States,  was  15,825,898  bushels,  thus 
showing  the  South  to  have  produced  a  small  proportion  of 
the  general  crop. 

The*  price  has  varied  very  much  each  year,  sometimes 
reaching  as  much  as  two  and  a  half  dollars  per  bushel,  and 
then  selling  at  another  time  at  fifty  cents.  The  average 
price  now  for  a  number  of  years  has  been  from  75  cents  to 
one  dollar. 

As  already  stated,  from  the  early  ages  of  man,  as  recorded 
by  both  the  imspired  and  pagan  historians,  barley  next  to 
wheat,  has  been  more  extensively  used  as  a  material  for 
bread,  than  any  other  cereal.  At  one  time,  in  England,  it 


318  CEREALS. 

took  precedence  of  even  wheat,  and  now,  on  the  Continent, 
it  forms  the  staple  bread  of  the  poorer  classes.  It  is  eaten 
as  bread  in  parts  of  South  Wales,  and  in  the  northern 
countries  of  England,  and  on  the  Continent. 

Many  writers  say  it  is  more  nutritious  than  wheat.  It  is 
extensively  used  to  make  into  a  soup  or  broth  to  distribute 
from  charitable  institutions  to  the  poor.  The  bread  made 
from  it  is  blackish,  and  has  a  strong  odor,  disagreeable  to 
some  persons.  The  Gladiators  of  Rome  were  fed  upon  this 
black  bread,  under  the  impression  that  its  therapeutic  quali- 
ties were  such  as  to  conduce  to  strength  and  endurance.  It 
must  have  been  an  ignorant  deduction,  however,  as  gluten 
is  the  great  strength  producing  principle  of  cereals  and 
wheat,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  table  above,  is  largely  in 
the  ascendent  in  that  ingredient,  as  compared  with  other 
grains.  Barley  bread  is  unknown  to  America,  except  on 
the  prescription  of  a  physician. 

As  a  food  for  animals,  Barley  enters  largely  into  the  cal- 
culation of  farmers.  Not  only  is  it  fed  to  them  as  corn, 
but  the  growing  Barley  is  extensively  employed  to  carry 
stock  through  the  winter,  in  place  of  other  grasses.  Sown 
early  in  the  fall,  or  even  in  August,  it  will  afford  a  fine 
pasturage  through  the  entire  winter,  and  not  show  any  in- 
jury in  its  productive  capacity.  It  grows  rapidly,  and  wil. 
soon  recover  itself  when  relieved  of  stock.  It  bears  pas 
turing  better  than  wheat,  and  yields  far  more  than  ryel 
having  more  herbage.  It  can  be  used  in  this  respect  until 
the  15th  of  March,  or  1st  of  April,  if  the  season  is  back-, 
ward. 

From  the  first  use  of  Barley,  it  has  been  employed  as 
food  for  stock.  At  first,  it  entered  so  largely  into  the  food 
of  man,  stock  did  not  get  a  full  supply,  but  after  the  later 
introduction  of  wheat,  the  practice  of  giving  it  to  the  in- 
ferior animals  became  general.  The  cavalry  horses  of  Rome 
were  fed,  on  the  long  and  tedious  marches  into  the  enemy 's 
country,  upon  it,  as  the  transportation  was  not  so  difficult 


BARLEY.  319 

as  other  kinds  of  food,  each  soldier  providing  himself  with 
a  sack,  which  he  strapped  to  his  saddle.  They  were  thus  ena- 
bled to  make  long  and  secret  expeditions.  Mixed  with 
oats  and  fed  to  horses/it  makes  a  most  excellent  grain  food, 
and  even  now,  in  some  countries,  swine,  fattened  with  it, 
bring  a  large  price  for  the  peculiar  sweetness  of  the  flesh 
which  is  not  only  made  more  tender,  but  is  said  to  increase 
in  boiling. 

Barley  meal  is  a  favorite  swill  feed  for  cattle  and  hogs 
in  the  portions  of  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  where  corn 
does  not  succeed  well.  It  is  fed  to  them  in  its  first  stages 
of  fermentation.  The  grain  is  also,  by  some,  soaked  until 
it  swells,  and  fed  in  that  condition.  Barley  straw,  cut  fine 
with  rneal  sprinkled  over  it,  is  an  excellent  food  for  cattle 
and  horses,  but  especially  for  milk  cows,  as  it  increases, 
both  the  flow  and  richness  of  milk.  In  Arabia  and  Egypt, 
where  the  most  celebrated  horses  of  the  world  are  bred,  th 
almost  sole  'food  they  receive  is  Barley,  in  its  natural  state? 
without  either  cooking  or  grinding.  There  is  a  prejudice 
in  the  minds  of  some,  that  Barley,  fed  alone,  possesses  heat- 
ing properties,  but  when  we  see  its  good  effects  in  this  nursery 
of  horses,  and  in  a  country  naturally  far  warmer  than  this, 
we  should  no  longer  hesitate  in  its  use.  It  is  comparatively 
free  from  diseases  and  from  the  depredations  of  insects ;  it 
produces  more  to  the  acre  than  wheat  or  rye,  and  will  make 
good  crops  with  less  cultivation  and  on  poorer  land  than 
corn,  and  yet,  in  Tennessee,  the  use  of  this  valuable  grain 
as  a  stock  food,  is  not  what  it  should  be.  It  has  so  long 
been  consumed  by  the  brewer,  that  any  other  use  is  not 
thought  of.  It  can  be  used  as  a  food,  from  the  time  the 
shoots  come  out  of  the  ground  first  as  a  pasture;  then  as 
grain  and  hay.  It  fills  every  indication  required,  and  be- 
sides, if  the  wheat  bin  becomes  exhausted,  there  is  a  never- 
failing  supply  of  batter-cakes,  equal  to  buckwheat,  to  carry 
the  family  to  the  next  crop. 

As  a  theraputic  agent,  barley,  as  before  stated,  has  a  very 


320  CEREALS. 

considerable  reputation  among  physicians.  It  has  much 
less  of  the  flesh-forming  principles  in  it  than  wheat  and,  as 
a  natural  consequence,  is  admissible  in  all  inflammatory 
affections,  where  a  cooling  diet  is  desired.  However,  there 
being  a  superabundance  of  starch  in  it,  the  gastric  juice 
meets  with  more  resistance,  and  it,  with  the  bran  that  is 
unavoidably  in  it,  produces  a  laxative  effect,  so  that  it 
would  not  be  suited  to  bowel  affections,  especially  for 
diarrhoea  or  indigestion.  But  in  kidney,  lung  or  liver 
diseases,  where  a  cooling,  demulcent  and  nutritious  food  is 
desirable,  it  is  well  adapted.  Bread,  with  three  parts 
wheat  and  one  of  barley,  is  a  good  food  to  counteract  the 
effects  of  constipation,  both  in  infants  and  adults.  Decoc- 
tions and  infusions  of  barley  were  used  formerly,  as  febrifuge 
drinks,  more  than  at  present,  but  are  still  good. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  brewers  get  the  largest  pro- 
portion of  the  barley  raised  in  the  State.  It  is  used  by 
them  for  the  purpose  of  making  beer  and  ale.  This  is  a 
comparatively  new  industry  in  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and 
is  increasing  at  such  a  rate  that  a  market  for  all  the  barley 
likely  to  be  raised  will  be  always  at  hand.  This  fact  is 
well  established,  when  it  is  known  that  the  brewers  of 
Nashville  have  to  resort  to  the  North  for  their  main 
supply. 

Beer  or  ale  is  becoming  such  an  universal  drink  that 
more  breweries  are  being  constantly  built  up.  As  to  the 
morale  of  its  use,  we  have  nothing  to  say ;  but  it  is  taking 
the  place,  in  many  families,  of  tea,  coffee  and  milk,  and 
there  are  numbers  of  persons  who  never  drink  water  at  all, 
quenching  their  thirst  by  the  use  of  this  beverage.  It  is 
strongly  recommended  by  some  temperance  advocates  as  an 
antidote  to  intemperance ;  its  mildly  intoxicating  qualities 
seeming  to  satisfy  the  cravings  for  stimulus.  It  may  be 
interesting  to  the  public  to  know,  in  a  few  words,  the  pro- 
cess of  beer-making.  Without  going  into  details,  the  bar- 
ley is  first  soaked  in  water  about  two  days,  until  it  increases 


BAELEY.  321 

about  forty  per  cent,  in  weight,  and  until  it  can  be  easily 
pricked  with  a  needle.  It  is  then  piled  in  heaps  to  germi- 
nate, which  it  will  quickly  do,  when  it  is  spread  on  a  floor 
two  or  three  inches  thick,  to  secure  uniformity  of  sprouting. 
This  is  a  nice  operation,  and  is  stopped  just  as  the  gluten 
and  mucilage  -has  mostly  given  way  to  sugar,  and  if  it 
should  go  too  far  the  sugar  would  become  acid  and  the 
barley  lost.  At  the  proper  stage  of  fermentation  the  grain 
is  kiln-dried,  so  as  to  destroy  all  vitality  in  the  seed.  Next, 
the  grain  is  ground,  then  mashed,  that  is,  it  is  stirred  in 
just  water  enough,  at  160°;  to  thoroughly  wet  it,  then 
water,  at  194°,  is  added,  and  it  is  allowed  to  stand  three  or 
four  hours  and  then  boiled  in  large  copper  vessels  by  means 
of  steam  pipes.  At  this  stage,  one  pound  of  hops  to  a 
bushel  of  malt  is  added,  and  the  whole  mass  frequently 
stirred.  After  being  sufficiently  boiled,  it  is  strained,  by 
being  drawn  into  vessels  with  perforated  bottoms,  and  then 
exposed  in  broad  shallow  cisterns,  with  a  stream  of  air 
passing  over  them,  for  cooling  rapidly.  When  cooled  down 
to  about  60°,  it  is  drawn  into  vats  and  the  yeast  added,  one 
gallon  of  yeast  to  100  gallons  of  the  liquid,  ifrow  is  the 
critical  time  of  making  good  ale  or  beer.  In  a  short  time 
fermentation  begins,  and  the  operator  watches  day  and 
night  the  process,  so  as  to  take  it  at  the  precise  point. 
Now  is  the  time  the  different  kinds  of  malt  liquors  are 
made.  Ale,  pale-ale,  lager  and  bock  beer,  porter  and  all 
the  endless  varieties  of  these  drinks  are  determined  by  the 
amount  of  fermentation ;  and  this  process  is  of  so  much 
consequence,  that  a  man  well  skilled  in  it  will  receive,  in  a 
large  brewery,  enormous  wages  such  as  a  man  in  no  other 
kind  of  business  or  profession  will  command,  even  $20.000 
a  year  having  been  given  some.  When  the  proper  point 
has  been  reached,  the  liquor,  to  avoid  the  loss  of  the 
alcohol,  the  aroma  of  the  hops,  and  also  to  escape  souring, 
is  put  into  hogsheads  with  the  bung  hole  open.  It  here  re- 
mains and  the  froth  escapes,  carrying  off  all  sediments  and 
21 


322 


CEREALS. 


foreign  substances  until  the  process  is  completed,  and  then 
it  is  transferred  to  tight  strong  casks,  in  a  cool  celler,  to 
await  the  consumer. 

Appended  is  an  analysis  of  some  of  the  celebrated  brands 
of  beers : 


WATEK. 

MALT. 

ALCOHOL. 

OAEBONIO 
ACID. 

76.03 

15.88 

8.08 

0.01 

London  Pale  Ale     .   

89  85 

4  50 

5  65 

Double  Porter  

88.74 

5.98 

6.10 

0.18 

Philadelphia  Lager  Beer 

92  16 

4  36 

3  40 

0  08 

Reading  Lager  Beer  

91.30 

4  66 

3.76 

0  13 

Walters  Lager  Beer  

91.80 

4.65 

3.44 

0.11 

Bavarian  Lager  Beer  . 

90.95 

470 

4  34 

0  04 

Malt-making  can  only  be  prosecuted  in  the  winter 
months,  or  when  the  thermometer  is  below  45°,  as  in  warm 
weather  the  grain  becomes  mouldy. 

BROOM  CORN— (Sorghum  Saccharalum) . 

Spikelets'  clustered  or  scattered  in  an  ample  panicle,  each  with  one 
perfect  and  one  central  or  staminate  flower ;  without  silky  down ; 
glumes  russet  brown,  coriaceous;  stems  not  hollow,  pithy;  leaves, 
linear:  ligular,  short  and  hairy;  villous,  oblong  florets,  and  yellow 
oval  seeds.  Flowers  in  August. 

Broom  Corn  is  a  native  of  India,  and  was  introduced  to 
the  United  States  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  acci- 
dentally saw  a  single  seed  on  a  broom,  in  the  possession  of  a 
lady  friend,  imported  from  India.  He  planted  it  in  his 
garden,  raised  a  stalk,  distributed  the  seed,  and  hence  its 
origin  as  an  agricultural  product  in  America. 

The  credit  for  the  industry  of  broom-making  is  due  the 
Shakers;  who  in  1791,  at  Watervliet,  New  York,  first  began 
to  raise  broom  corn  in  their  gardens.  This  they  made  into 
brooms,  and  sold  them  at  50  cents  each.  Their  machinery 
was  very  simple,  and  the  handles  were  made  of  white  soft 
maple  wood,  and  turned  with  an  ordinary  foot-lathe.  The 


BROOM   CORN.  323 

Shakers  at  Union  village,  Ohio,  soon  learned  the  trade,  so 
that  it  was,  essentially,  for  many  years  a  Shaker  trade. 

Before  the  war,  it  was  an  almost  unknown  agricultural 
product  of  the  South,  at  that  time  being  confined  to  a  few 
patches  belonging  to  the  slaves.  But  after  the  war  it  came 
into  notice,  and  the  fortunate  few  who  began  its  cultivation 
realized  such  enormous  profits,  it  attracted  general  attention 
and  it  at  once  sprung  into  popularity.  Soon,  however,  it 
was  overdone,  and  the  price  fell  in  one  year,  from  a  surplus 
production,  from  12  J  cents  to  2  cents  per  pound.  This  so 
discouraged  farmers,  that  it  has  been  touched  with  hesitation 
ever  since,  and  its  price,  since  1870,  has  never,  at  any  time, 
ceased  to  be  remunerative.  At  this  time,  its  cultivation  is 
very  generally  carried  on  throughout  the  United  States,  and 
it  forms  one  of  the  staple  productions  of  Tennessee.  We 
have  no  statistics  of  its  growth  in  either  the  State  or  general 
government,  but  that  Tennessee  produces  more  than  she 
wants,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  a  large  quantity  is  annually 
shipped  to  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis  and  Boston,  and  several 
large  broom  factories  are  in  successful  operation. 

No  crop,  at  maturity,  presents  a  more  beautiful  appear- 
ance than  broom  corn.  Its  stalks  grow,  on  good  land,  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high,  and  its  heavy  panicle  waves  to 
every  passing  breeze  like  a  plume.  The  stalks  are  hard  and 
worthless,  unless  stock  can  be  turned  on  a  field  immediately 
after  cutting,  or  before  frost,  when  they  will  strip  the  fodder 
to  some  extent.  Some  farmers  will  gather  the  fodder  and 
use  it  as  sheep  provender  during  the  winter,  but  though 
eaten,  it  is  not  with  much  relish.  The  seeds,  formerly, 
were  quite  valuable,  and  in  fact  were  fully  worth  the  cost  of 
production.  But,  of  late,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  when 
cut  while  the  seeds  are  in  the  milk,  or  at  farthest  in  the 
dough  state,  the  straw  is  much  brighter  and  brings  a  higher 
price.  Consequently,  the  seeds  are  not  nearly  so  valuable. 
They  are  chiefly  valuable  for  sheep,  which  are  readily 
fattened  by  them.  Ground,  and  mixed  with  corn,  oats,  rye 


324  CEREALS. 

or  barley,  they  are  good  for  any  kind  of  stock,  and  are  ex- 
cellent to  fatten  cattle.  Mixed  with  wheat  bran,  their  value 
is  greatly  increased,  and  a  cheaper  or  better  food  for  poultry 
cannot  be  found. 

If  intended  for  feed,  the  seeds  should  be  taken  up  as 
threshed  and  spread  on  the  barn-floors  or  scaffolds  until 
thoroughly  dry  before  being  stored.  Too  often,  however, 
the  thriftless  farmer,  looking  upon  it  as  a  small  business, 
or  being  too  busy  with  preparing  the  straw  for  market,  will 
allow  them  to  accumulate  in  a  great  heap,  and,  being  yet 
green,  they  quickly  heat  and  rot.  That  this  is  reprehensi- 
ble in  the  highest  degree,  is  apparent,  when  it  is  stated  that 
on  the  best  land,  as  much  as  fifty  bushels  of  seed  are  raised 
per  acre,  less  in  proportion  to  the  character  of  the  land. 
Thus,  in  a  large  crop,  the  farmer  is  throwing  away  good 
stock  food,  enough  to  supply  all  the  animals  on  his  place 
with  an  abundance  of  good  grain  during  the  winter,  com- 
pelling too  often  during  winter  his  cows  and  stock  cattle  to 
browse  on  barren  wastes,  with  the  bonus  of  a  few  shucks  at 
night.  No  wonder  that  the  March  winds  blow  away  so 
many  of  the  cattle. 

The  seeds  should  be  planted  in  drills,  three  feet  apart, 
and  about  12  or  18  inches  in  the  drill.  Four-quarts  will 
be  amply  sufficient  to  plant  an  acre.  In  Tennessee,  plant- 
ing is  done 'almost  exclusively  by  hand,  but  there  are  ma- 
chines that  will  plant  far  more  regularly  and  evenly,  than 
can  possibly  be  done  otherwise,  and  by  using  one,  there 
will  be  no  necessity  for  laying  off  rows,  covering,  or  thin- 
ning out.  With  a  machine,  the  planting  can  be  soon  fin- 
ished, as  one  man  will  plant  from  10  to  12  acres  a  day,  the 
planting  being  in  two  rows  at  once.  Any  ground  that  pro- 
duces a  good  crop  of  Indian  corn,  being  well  prepared  as 
in  all  other  crops,  is  suitable  for  Broom  Corn,  but  rich,  al- 
luvial bottom  is  the  best,  and  will  make  the  largest  returns 
Thin  land  will  make,  possibly  more  Broom  Corn  than  any 
other  crop,  but  still  it  will  not  make  a  paying  quantity.  In 


BROOM   CORN.  325 

four  or  five  clays,  if  the  weather  is  favorable,  the  seed  will 
germinate  and  the  grass-like  blades  will  make  their  appear- 
ance above  ground.  The  after-cultivation  is  easy,  by  using 
the  walking  cultivator,  and  its  growth  is  so  rapid  that  it 
will  not  be  necessary  to  go  over  it  more  than  twice,  if  the 
ground  is  well  harrowed  before  planting.  By  using  this 
implement  and  a  seed  drill,  one  hand  can  easily  cultivate 
thirty  acres,  and,  even  more,  if  .he  calls  in  assistance  in  pre- 
paring the  land,  for  with  a  cultivator  one  row  is  plowed 
each  time  going  across  the  field.  So,  with  two  horses,  one 
man  will  clean  well  seven  or  eight  acres  per  day.  Of  course* 
without  these  improved  implements,  and  with  less  careful 
tillage,  the  crop  would  come  down  to  ten  or  twelve  acres 
per  hand. 

The  time  of  planting,  is  from  the  middle  of  April  to  the 
middle  of  June.  It  must  not  be  planted  while  there  is 
danger  of  frost,  and  if  it  is  delayed  too  long,  the  dry  weather 
will  lessen  the  product. 

As  before  stated,  the  best  time  to  harvest  the  crop,  is 
when  the  seeds  are  in  the  milk  state,  or,  at  furthest,  in  the 
dough  state.  At  this  period,  the  straw  is  light-colored  and 
bright,  arid  will  bring  the  maximum  price.  If  the  cutting 
is  delayed  until  ripe,  the  straw  becomes  more  brittle,  and 
assumes  a  red  color,  and  that  kind  always  brings  the  mini- 
mum price,  and  besides  is  not  so  strong  or  durable. 

And  now  begins  the  real  labor  of  the  crop.  The  old 
plan  was  to  bend  the  corn  down,  three  or  four  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  leave  it  thus  four  or  five  days  to  dry. 
But  in  this  way,  the  work  of  after-harvesting  is  increased, 
and  besides,  the  straw  will  become,  to  a  great  extent,  bent 
or  twisted,  and  this,  also,  detracts  from  its  value.  Now* 
the  common  custom  is  to  "table  it,"  and  this  process  is  per- 
formed in  the  following  manner: 

It  requires  the  united  work  of  four  hands  to  expedite  the 
job,  though  any  number  can  work  at  it.  One  hand  on 
each  row  will  break  the  stalk  off,  or  rather  bend  it  about 


326  CEEEALS. 

four  feet  -from  the  ground,  at  an  angle,  so  as  to  cross  over 
the  opposite  row  towards  the  rear.  The  two  first  stalks  in 
each  row  must  be  twisted  together,  so  as  to  form  a  rest  for 
the  beginning.  After  that,  they  will  lie  on  each  other, 
forming  a  flat  of  the  two  rows,  the  brush,  with  a  portion  of 
the  stem,  projecting  rearwards  on  the  opposite  side  from 
where  it  grew.  The  two  hands  following  after  on  each 
side  will  cut  off  the  bush,  with  stems  attached,  six  or  eight 
inches  long  and  lay  it  upon  the  "table"  made  by  the  bent 
corn.  It  can  here  remain,  according  to  the  weather,  until, 
if  the  latter  is  favorable,  it  becomes  nearly  dry.  It  must 
be  carried  to  the  barn,  or  other  shelter,  and  "poled,"  or 
spread  on  lathes,  or  resting  poles,  which  extend  across  the 
barn,  and  left  there  until  it  becomes  perfectly  dry.  In  no 
other  condition  is  it  merchantable,  except  at  an  inferior 
price. 

In  the  meantime,  while  drying,  it  is  also  stripped  of  its 
seed,  which  is  done,  either  by  hand,  horse  or  steam  power, 
by  threshers  made  for  the  business.  A  good  horse-thresher 
will  clean  about  three  acres  per  day;  steam,  more;  hand- 
power  less.  After  threshing,  the  drying  process  is  com- 
pleted, and  it  is  ready  to  be  baled. 

Every  man  who  raises  it  to  any  extent,  should  provide 
himself  with  a  press,  which  can  be  cheaply  made,  by  putting 
a  lever  in  a  tree,  post,  or  in  the  side  of  a  barn,  having 
two,  strongly  batoned  sides  to  shape  the  bale.  Tobacco 
prizes  will  answer  for  baling.  In  baling,  the  farmer  should 
use  wire,  and  lay  the  corn  straight;  tie  securely,  and 
trim  the  ends  squarely.  A  neat,  tight,  well-made  bale  will 
command  a  quick  sale  over  a  slovenly-made  one,  even  if  the 
corn  is  not  so  good.  After  the  crop  is  off,  the  ground 
should  be  rolled  and  a  three-horse  plow  passed  over  it,  so 
as  to  turn  the  stubble  into  the  soil.  By  so  doing,  it  will 
rot,  and  the  ground  will  be  light,  loose  and  fertile  for  an- 
other crop,  the  amount  taken  off  being  small  in  proportion 
to  that  raised  on  the  ground.  Some  cut  the  stalks  and  carry 


BROOM   CORN.  327 

them  into  the  barn-yard  for  littering  purposes,  others  fill 
up  gullies,  too  many  of  which  are  seen  on  our  fields,  while, 
by  far  the  largest  number  allow  them  to  remain  until  spring, 
then  drag  and  burn  them.  Some  of  the  finest  crops  of  In- 
dian corn  I  ever  saw,  were  raised  on  burned  land,  the  salts 
of  the  ashes  simulating  greatly  the  crop. 

The  average  crop  of  one  acre  in  this  State,  may  be  put  at 
five  to  six  hundred  pounds,  dry  bush.  On  good  bottom 
land,  one  thousand  pounds  may  be  easily  raised,  and  occa- 
sionally on  extra  land,  twelve  hundred  pounds  may  be  se- 
cured. But  no  farmer  'must  expect  to  raise  even  five  hun- 
dred pounds  on  poor  land,  or  disappoinment  will  be  his  por- 
tion, as  it  takes  good  average  land  to  make  even  this  yield. 
The  cost  of  cultivating  and  marketing  an  acre  is  about  as 
follows : 

Breaking  up  ground $  1.00 

Harrowing  twice 1.00 

Planting  with  hand 1.00 

Plowing  twice 2.00 

Breaking  and  cutting <, 4.00 

Hauling,  threshing  and  drying 4.00 

Wire  and  baling 2.00 

Kent  of  land 5.00 

Total  cost  of  one  acre $20.00 

Credit  by  600  pounds  bush,  at  6  cents,  the  average 

price  for  the  last  few  years $36.00 

By  seed,  50  bushels,  worth,  say  25  cents.. 12.00 

Total $48.50 

Net  profit,  $28.50  per  acre. 

In  this  estimate  the  seeds  are  placed  at  half  the  value  of 
oats,  there  being  no  market  value  for  them,  and  it  is  admit- 
ted, by  all  agricultural  writers,  that  broom-corn  seed  are 
fully  equal,  in  value  as  feed,  to  oats.  Then,  the  quantity 
of  seed  per  acre  is  fully  low  enough  to  make  due  allowance 


328  CEREALS. 

for  the  shrinkage  consequent  upon  early  cutting.  Besides 
the  net  profit,  much  of  the  expense  will  go  into  the  farmer's 
own  pocket,  as  most  of  the  work,  or  all  of  it,  will  be  done 
by  the  ordinary  labor  necessary  to  carry  on  the  farm.  So, 
really,  the  profit  of  a  crop  of  broom-corn  is  fully  equal  to 
that  of  any  other  crop  now  planted  in  the  State,  and  great- 
ly surpasses  many  of  them.  Several  objects  must  be  kept 
constantly  in  view  in  the  culture  of  broom-corn: 

1.  Cut  and  cure  it  as  green  as  possible,  consistent  with 
the  ripening  crop. 

2.  Handle  neatly  and  do  not  cut  the  stalks  too  long  that 
go  with  the  brush. 

3.  Dry  thoroughly  as  possible  to  prevent  moulding,  the 
succulent  pith  greatly  favoring  it. 

4.  Bale  tightly,  and  in  all  cases  trim  the  ends  of  the  bales 
with  as  much  precision  as  possible,  a  ragged,  jagged  bale 
never  bringing  its  value. 

There  is  another  view  to  be  taken  of  broom-corn.  No 
farmer  who  carries  on  a  farm  of  any  size,  whether  with 
hired  labor  or  with  his  own  sons,  but  finds  many  unem- 
ployed days  during  the  summer  and  winter,  both  from  in- 
clemency of  the  weather  and  other  causes.  Let  him  raise, 
in  addition  to  his  market  crops,  a  few  acres  of  broom-corn 
for  home  manufacture.  The  cold,  rainy  days,  and  long, 
tedious  nights  of  winter  can  be  passed  in  making  brooms. 
"With  special  care  he  can  always  count  on  one  ton  of  good 
straw,  all  raised  by  his  own  labor.  One  ton  of  brush 
will  make  from  1,200  to  1,300  brooms.  The  wire,  handles, 
braces  and  twine  in  one  broom  will  average  three  cents. 
The  cost  of  a  complete  outfit  for  making  brooms,  the  best 
machines,  is  fifty  dollars.  Two  hands  will  make  one  broom 
every  five  minutes,  so  that,  after  supper,  until  nine  o'clock, 
two  hands  will  turn  out  not  less  than  two  dozen  brooms, 
worth  at  this  time,  $2.50  per  dozen,  sometimes  $3.00.  If  he 
would  take  the  trouble  to  retail  them,  he  would  receive 
$5.00  per  dozen.  In  this  manner,  without  losing  any  time 


BROOM    CORN.  329 

from  his  other  work,  a  farmer  could  realize  a  good  profit  from 
every  acre  of  -broom-corn  planted,  and  the  work  is  not  at 
all  tedious,  on  the  contrary,  being  noiseless,  it  would  not  in- 
terfere with  conversation  or  reading  by  one  member  of  the 
family.  These  suggestions  are  thrown  out,  particularly  to 
that  class  of  our  fellow-citizens,  who  must  pay  rent,  and 
find  it  so  difficult  to  make  the  two  ends  meet,  with  large 
families  to  support;  but  they  are  equally  applicable  to  all 
classes,  who,  by  industry  and  economy,  would  escape  that 
most  horrible  of  all  conditions,  being  in  debt;  for  with  the 
best  of  management,  "he  who  sows  land  reaps  more  care 
than  corn." 


330  CEKEALS. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

BUCKWHEAT — DHOUKO   CORN. 

BUCKWHEAT — (Polygonumfagopyrum.} 

This  is  one  species  of  a  weed  comprising  many  varieties.  It  has  al- 
ternate, entire  leaves,  having  stipules  in 
the  form  of  scarious  or  membranous 
sheaths  at  strongly  marked,  usually  tu- 
mid joints  of  the  stem;  leaves  triangu- 
lar-heart-shaped inclining  to  halberd- 
shaped  or  arrow-shaped  on  long  petioles; 
sheaths  half  cylindrical;  flowers  white, 
or  nearly  so,  in  corymbose  panicles; 
stamens  8,  with  as  many  honey-bearing 
cells  interposed;  styles  3;  acute,  trian- 
gular, large  akene. 

The  botanic  name  is  from  the 
Greek,  and    the    common    name 
from  the  German,  and  both  mean 
Buckwheat,  from   the   similarity 
of  the  grain  to  the  beech-nut. 

Buckwheat  has  never  received  that  consideration  due  it 
as  a  field  crop,  from  the  fact,  that  other  grains  succeed,  as  a 
rule,  better,  in  Tennessee.  Where  mostly  raised,  even,  it  is 
generally  sown  as  a  substitute  after  the  failure  of  other  grain 
crops,  the  short  period  of  growth  allowing  it  to  come  in.  Its 
cultivation  thus  is  very  fluctuating,  one  year  the  crop  of  the 
United  States  being  only  14,972  acres,  the  next  year  being 
149,445  acres.  It  is  rarely  sown  before  the  middle  of  June, 
and  can  be  sown  later  in  July,  as  it  only  requires  from  80  to 
90  days  to  mature.  However,  it  is  never  allowed  to  fully 
mature,  as  it  continues  to  bloom  and  fruit  until  frost,  and  the 
judgment  of  the  farmer  must  be  exercised  as  to  the  time  when 


BUCKWHEAT.  331 

it  is  full  of  kernals.  It  is  not  only  a  food  for  man,  but  is  as 
good  for  stock,  fattening  horses,  cattle  and  hogs.  It  is 
nearly  as  nutritious  as  oats,  can  be  raised  as  cheaply,  and 
the  yield  is  about  the  same,  ranging  from  25  to  40  bushels 
per  acre. 

It  yields  on  grinding  about  33 1-3  pounds  of  flour  per 
bushel.  The  flour  is  used  extensively  in  the  United  States 
for  making  breakfast  cakes,  but  in  Europe  it  is  used  for 
bread.  East  Tennessee  has  devoted  a  considerable  portion 
of  land  to  its  culture  for  many  years.  A  gentleman  in 
Greene  county  sowed  it  the  6th  of  July,  and  harvested  about 
30  bushels  per  acre,  on  the  9th  of  October.  'Two  quarts 
sown  one  year  made  four  bushels  of  the  grain.  It  does  not 
succeed  well  on  rich  land  from  its  disposition  to  lodge,  but 
on  poor,  thin  land,  especially  with  a  good  proportion  of 
clay,  it  does  exceedingly  well.  It  would,  no  doubt,  be 
a  remunerative  crop  for  the  uplands  of  Tennessee,  espe- 
cially the  Cumberland  table  lands.  It  is  exceedingly 
sensitive  to  cold,  the  slightest  frosts  destroying  it,  but  it 
requires  so  short  a  time  to  mature  that  it  can  be  successfully 
grown  in  our  shortest  summers  and  in  the  highest  latitudes. 
It  does  not  seem  to  injure  the  land  on  which  it  grows,  and 
consequently  can  be  raised  successively  for  many  years  on 
the  same  soil.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  derives  its 
principal  nourishment  from  the  atmosphere,  and  for  this 
reason  it  is  that  poor  soil  will  make  good  crops.  The  flow- 
ers are  abundant  and  abound  in  honey,  though  of  an  infe- 
rior quality,  and  from  the  time  of  inflorescence  it  is  covered 
with  bees.  Some  apiarians  sow  it  solely  for  the  use  of  their 
bees. 

There  are  several  varieties,  each  receiving  a  local  name, 
and  each  having  its  defenders,  as  the  best  quality.  There 
is  the  rough,  the  smooth,  the  gray,  the  Scotch  gray,  and  the 
silver  hull,  or  serrazin  argente,  &  French  variety  with  a 
grayish  colored  hull.  This  last  is  named  from  the  Saracens; 
who  were  supposed  to  have  introduced  it  into  Spain  in  the 


332  CEREALS. 

eighth  century,  and  brought  it  thence  into  France.  This 
variety  is  at  present  the  favorite  in  sections  devoted  to  its 
culture,  its  adherents  claiming  that  it  will  produce  more 
in  a  shorter  time  than  any  other  variety.  It  can  be  sown 
in  July,  and  harvested  in  September,  and  usually  yields 
thirty  bushels  per  acre. 

The  proper  quantity  to  sow  is  one  bushel  per  acre.  This  is 
sown  on  ground  previously  broken  up  and  plowed  in.  It 
produces  such  amass  of  leaves  that  the  ground  is  thoroughly 
shaded  and  all  weeds  are  stifled.  Twelve  bushels  will  pay 
all  the  expenses  of  cultivation  which  leaves  any  surplus  a 
clear  profit.  The  average  crop  in  the  United  States  in  1873, 
was  18.1  bushels  per  acre,  which  is  more  than  twice  that  of 
wheat.  It  does  not  stand  extremes  of  heat  or  moisture,  but 
in  the  middle  States  it  is  never  too  dry  for  it.  It  has  been 
raised  in  South  Carolina  successfully,  and  in  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  it  is  one  of  the  standard  crops.  As  far 
North  as  Wisconsin,  Prof.  Daniells  experimented  with  it. 
He  sowed  eight  quarts  of  seed  weighing  thirteen  pounds  on 
seventy-two  square  rods  of  ground  on  the  28th  of  June. 
The  growth  was  very  slow  on  account  of  dry  weather. 
When  not  fully  ripe  on  the  30th  of  September,  he  harvested 
it,  and  got  526J  pounds  of  grain,  which  was  at  the  rate  of 
27J  bushels  per  acre.  One  bushel  weighs  46J  pounds. 
Had  it  been  fully  ripe  the  yield  would  have  been  much 
larger,  but  it  had  to  be  cut  to  escape  frost.  If  it  can  thus 
be  grown  in  the  chilling  atmosphere  of  Wisconsin,  and  on 
the  hot  sands  of  South  Carolina,  there  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  be  successfully  and  generally  cultivated  in  all 
parts  of  Tennessee,  especially  as  before  stated  on  our  thin 
lands.  It  would  make  a  fine  substitute  for  wheat  for  man, 
and  of  oats  for  animals,  and  nothing  could  be  better  than 
to  sow  it  on  the  lands  in  such  a  year  as  the  present,  that 
have  failed  to  bring  good  returns  of  wheat,  and  in  fact,  it 
can  be  sown  any  year  after  the  harvesting  of  wheat  and 
oats,  on  the  same  ground.  It  is  sometimes  plowed  in  while 


BUCKWHEAT.  333 

green,  as  a  manure,  and  often  it  is  cut  and  cured  as  hay  for 
stock,  they  eating  it  greedily. 

At  the  proper  time  for  cutting  it  is  cradled  and  set  up  to 
dry,  there  being  no  danger  of  its  grains  sprouting  from  wet 
weather.  When  dry  it  is  placed  on  a  floor  of  rails  over  a 
pen  and  beat  out  with  the  flail.  It  can  be  ground  and 
bolted  in  any  of  the  common  mills  of  the  country.  Re- 
quiring no  barn  to  be  housed  in,  it  is  thus  within  reach  of 
the  pooest  tenants  as  well  as  the  rich  farmer.  Its  average 
price  for  the  last  thirty  years  is  one  dollar  per  bushel,  which 
is  far  better  than  can  be  procured  from  oats. 

It  is  a  native  of  central  Asia,  and  was  brought  into  Eu- 
rope by  the  Crusaders,  in  the  12th  century.  It  was  cul- 
tivated on  the  Hudson  river  ^as  early  as  1626,  by  the 
Dutch,  and  on  the  Delaware  by  the  Swedish  colonists,  and 
was  sent  back  to  Europe  in  that  year  as  a  sample  of  the 
products  of  the  country.  At  that  time,  however,  it  was 
chiefly  fed  to  horses,  and  it  was  not  used  extensively  as 
human  food  until  during  the^last  century. 

In  1840,  the  product  of  the  United  States  was  7,000,- 
000  bushels;  in  1850,  8,956,912  bushels;  in  1853,  10,000,- 
000  bushels;  in  1868,  1,052  acres  were  sown  in  Tennessee 
producing  12,000  bushels,  at  a  value  of  $14,520.  In  1874 
Tennessee  produced  76,000  bushels,  and  in  1875,  105,000 
bushels,  while  in  the  United  States  the  same  year,  there 
were  10,082,100  bushels  produced  on  575,530  acres  of  land. 
In  1876,  the  last  report  we  have  in  the  United  States,  9,668,- 
800  bushels  were  raised,  and  in  Tennessee,  97,000  bushels  on 
5,914  acres  of  land  that  brought  into  the  State  $80,510.  It 
is  thus  seen,  that  though  raised  but  little,  except  in  one 
section  of  the  State,  its  value  is  superior  per  acre,  to  the 
wheat  crop. 

We  cannot  close  without  again  urging  the  farmers  of  the 
Middle  and  Western  Divisions  to  cultivate  this  crop.  It 
is  freer  from  diseases  than  any  other  crop  of  grain,  re- 
quires less  cultivation,  is  more  easily  harvested,  requires  no 


334  CEREALS. 

heavy  outlay  for  housing,  can  be  sown  after  other  crops  are 
laid  by,  or  have  failed,  and  yields  as  much  per  acre  as  oats 
or  barley,  and  far  more  than  wheat  or  rye.  Its  analysis  is 
as  follows,  as  given  by  Boussingault : 

Water 14.0 

Gluten 9.0 

Starch ....    48.0 

Gum 2.5 

Sugar, 2.5 

Fat 1.6 

Woody  fibre 20.8 

Mineral  Matter 1.6 

Or  economically. 

Water 14.0 

.Flesh  formers 9.0 

Fat  Formers 52.1 

Accessories 23.3 

Mineral  matters 1.6 

To  show  its  relative  value  as  compared  with  other  cereals 
we  give  a  table  of  comparative  equivalents  of  nutritive  ele- 
ments of  grains  and  seeds,  flour  being  the  standard,  and 
placed  at  100. 

Wheat  flour,  good  quality 100 

Wheat 107 

Barley  meal 119 

Barley 130 

Eye ! Ill 

Buckwheat 108 

Indian  corn...., 138 

Yellow  peas 67 

Beans 44 

Rice 171 

This  table,  however,  refers  to  their  nitrogenous  values 
and  their  fattening  qualities  differ  greatly  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  tables  appended  to  each  grain  as  treated  in  the  series. 
In  the  above  table,  100  parts  of  wheat  flour  is  equal  to  107 
parts  of  wheat,  138  of  corn,  108  of  buckwheat,  etc.  The 
value  of  the  green  stalks  of  buckwheat  as  a  hay  is  shown 
in  the  table  below : 


BUCKWHEAT. 


335 


SUBSTANCE. 

Timothy. 

d 
3 

1 

"3 

$ 

o 

^'o 
!3 

£ 

Buckwheat  1 
stalks. 

I 

1 

1 

fl 

o 

§ 
1 

White,  field  1 
bean.  1 

Water 

70  0 

71  0 

76  0 

80  0 

82.5 

80.00 

82.0 

85.0 

Starch  

5.5 

8  8 

1  4 

1  0 

47 

3.40 

5  0 

1  5 

Woody  fibre 

12  5 

13.0 

18  9 

11-5 

10  0 

10.  31 

7.5 

9.0 

Sugar  

4.2 

4.9 

9,  1 

1.5 

4.55 

3  5 

0  9, 

Albumen  

4.0 

8  8 

9,0 

1.5 

0.2 

0.90 

1.0 

1,05 

Gums  .     .  .    , 

1.8 

1.5 

8  5 

3  4 

2  6 

0.90 

0.5 

2.25 

Fatty  matter  
Phosphate  of  lime  

"2!  6 

'  2.5 

0.1 
1.0 

0.9- 
0.9 

0.65 
0.19 

1.0 

A  careful  examination  of  this  table,  prepared  from  the 
best  American,  English  and  German  authorities,  and  a 
comparison  of  the  many  value  of  these  articles  of  food, 
modified  as  experience  shall  suggest,  with  their  feeding 
value  as  here  given,  would  be  of  immense  benefit  to  the 
farmers  and  save  them  thousands  of  dollars  often  injudi- 
ciously expended. 

I  append  another  table  of  analyses  made  by  Wolff  and 
Knop,  showing  comparative  value  of  cereals. 

GRAINS   AND   SEEDS. 


SUBSTANCE. 

i 
^ 

•ll 
II 

4 

i.     02 

11 

i" 

£*">  ti} 

J3     DO 

"§3 

0  g 

"O 

i 

i* 

5 

6 
« 

1 

Rice  

14  6 

84  9 

0  5 

7  5 

76  5 

0  9 

0  5 

Winter  wheat  

14  4 

83  6 

2  0 

13  0 

67  6 

3  0 

1  5 

Wheat  flour  

12  6 

86  7 

0.7 

11  8 

74  1 

0-7 

1  2 

Spelt  

14  8 

81  3 

3  9 

10  0 

54  8 

16  5 

1  5 

Winter  rye  

14  3 

83  7 

2  0 

11  0 

6Q  «? 

3  5 

2  0 

Rye  flour  ^ 

14  0 

84  4 

1  6 

10  5 

72  5 

1  5 

1  6 

Winter  barley  

14  3 

83  4 

2  3 

9  0 

65  9 

8  5 

2  5 

Summer  barley  

14.3 

83  8 

2.6 

9  5 

66  6 

7.0 

2  5 

Oats  

14  3 

82  7 

3  0 

12  0 

60  9 

10  3 

6  0 

Maize  

14.4 

83  5 

2  1 

10  0 

68  0 

5  5 

7  A 

Millet  

14  0 

83  0 

3  0 

14  5 

62  1 

6  4 

•  •u 
3  0 

Buckwheat  

14  0 

83  6 

2  4 

9  0 

59  6 

15  0 

2  5 

Vetches  

14.3 

83  4 

2  3 

27.5 

49  2 

6.7 

2  7 

Peas  

14  3 

83  2 

2  5 

22  4 

52  3 

9  2 

2  5 

Beans  (field)/  

14.5 

82.0 

3^5 

25.5 

45.5 

11.5 

29 

336 


CEREALS. 


DHOUBO  COBN,  DUBBA  OB  DOUBA,    INDIAN  MIL- 
LET— (Sorghum  vulgare). 

Steins  pithy,  about  eight  feet  high,  spikelets  clustered,  each  with  one    ^ 
perfect  and  one  neutral  or  staminatei  flower ;  no  silky  down ;    glumes     , 
russet  brown,  coriaceous ;  leaves  long,  linear,  and  recurved  as  Indian  { 
corn ;  annual.     Cultivated  for  its  seed. 

In  the  West  Indies,  it  is  called  Guinea  Corn ,  in  Arabia, 
Dhouro,  in  India,  Jovaree,  and  in  China,  Nagara.  In  some 
countries  it  is  cultivated  as  a  lorage  plant,  the  stems  con- 
taining a  large  proportion  of  saccharine  matter,  and  when 
dry  affording  a  fine  hay,  though  rough.  The  nutritive 
quality  of  the  seeds  nearly  equals  that  of  wheat.  From 
its  resemblance  to  Indian  corn,  in  the  south  of  Europe  it  is 
called  Small  Maize.  *  On  rich  land  it  grows  -from  eight  to 
twelve  feet  high,  and  it  produces  more  bushels  of  seed, 
than  an  other  known  cereal,  to  the  acre. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  this  cereal,  being  sports 
from  the  original.  Chocolate  corn,  Tennessee  rice,  Chicken 
corn,  are  some  of  its  synonyms.  It  is  a  native  of  Central 
Asia,  and  is  cultivated  extensively  in  Asia,  Africa,  West 
Indies,  Brazil,  and  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  United  States. 
It  will  grow  to  perfection  from  Pennsylvania  to  Florida. 
There  are  two  varieties  usually  cultivated,  the  "White"  and 
the  "  Red,"  both  good,  but  the  red  produces  a  great  many 
more  seeds — some  say  as  many  as  four  times  the  quantity  of 
the  other.  The  red  matures  earlier,  too ;  the  white,  being  in 
higher  latitudes,  is  often  caught  by  frosts.  The  Litter, 
however,  is  preferable  when  intended  for  food.  A  failure 
of  this  crop  in  Arabia  and  Africa,  would  be  as  great  a 
calamity  as  that  of  corn  in  the  United  States.  The  meal 
is  white  and  makes  delicious  breakfast  cakes,  and  is  said  to 
be  much  better  than  corn  meal. 

Its  yield  varies  according  to  the  soil  on  which  it  is  sown. 
On  rich  sandy  loam  or  alluvial  bottoms,  it  will  make  from 
100  to  150  bushels  per  acre,  but  unlike  the  other  cereals, 
except  buckwheat,  it  will  grow  well  on  soil  however  poor. 


DHOURA   CORN.  337 

On  rocky,  clayey  land,  that  will  scarcely  sprout  foxtail,  I 
have  seen  the  most  luxuriant  crops.  It  will  continue  to 
grow  until  frost,  and  after  the  first  head  matures  it  throws 
out  suckers  from  other  joints,  and  makes  smaller  heads. 
This  is  expedited  by  going  over  it  and  culling  out  as  fast  as 
it  ripens.  Stock  of  all  kinds  are  fond  of  it,  and  will 
greedily  eat  it.  It  is  almost  equal  to  Indian  corn  as  a  fat- 
tening food  for  hogs. 

The   ground    is  plowed   as  well   as   possible,  and  then 
thrown  into  low  ridges,  or  even  better  no  ridges  at  all ;  the 
seeds  are  then  drilled  three  feet  apart,  with  a  seed  drill. 
If  sown  by  hand,  the  rows  are  made  with  a  bull-tongue 
plow  and  covered  with  a  harrow.    A  peck  of  seeds  is  enough 
for  an  acre,  unless  they  are  weevil  eaten,  when  more  should 
be  used.     They  should  be  covered  very  lightly,  not  more 
than  an  inch  and  a  half  deep.     When  they  come  up  they 
should  be  thinned  out  by  chopping  across  the  row,  leaving 
the  plants  eighteen  inches  apart,  then  one   or   two  good 
plo wings  are  all  the  crop  requires.     There  need  be  no  fear 
of  weeds  or  grass  after  it  once  starts  out  to  grow,  as  its 
enormous  foliage,  and  thickly  clustering  suckers  choke  out 
everything  else  on  the  ground.     It  grows  very  rapidly,  and 
will  soon  be  ready  for  harvesting.     There  are  various  ways 
for  doing  this,  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  farmer.     Some 
cut  of  the  seed  heads  as  they  ripen,  and  turn  stock  on  the 
stalks,  which  will  eat  them  up  quite  clean.     Others  will 
cut  the  stalks  just  before  frost,  stacking  them  and  feeding 
them  as  hay  through  the  winter ;  and  these  stalks  will  keep 
better  than  any  other  of  the  pithy  grasses,  not  souring  like 
Indian  corn  or  sugar   cane.     Still    others  wait    until   the 
largest  quantity  of  seeds   is  ripe,  and  then  cut,  and  house 
seeds,  stalks  and  all  together,      If  the  fodder  is  pulled  it 
makes  excellent  feed,  in  fact  every  part  of  the' plant  makes 
good  feed  for  some  animals.     Care  should  be  exercised  to 
protect  it  from  fowls,  as  they  are  so  fond  of  the  seeds  that, 
frequently,  whole  fields  are  stripped. 
22 


338  CEREALS. 

It  is  often  planted  in  the  missing  places  of  corn,  and  it 
does  far  better  than  a  replant  of  corn,  as  one  stalk  will 
throw  out  numerous  suckers,  making  several  large  heads 
and  ripening  with  the  corn.  Drought  has  but  little  effect 
in  retarding  its  growth.  It  retains  its  dark  green  color 
and  luxuriant  foliage  when  other  plants  are  shrivelled  up 
by  the  heat. 

In  the  south  it  is  sown  thickly  in  drills,  and  cut  for  soil- 
ing stock,  and  if  not  allowed  to  flower,  it  will  bear  cutting 
until  frost  comes.  Many  sow  it  broadcast  for  hay.  Pre- 
pare the  ground  well  and  sow  one  bushel  of  seed  to  the 
acre,  harrowing  it  in.  It  makes  an  enormous  yield  of  hay, 
but,  from  the  succulent  character  of  the  stalks,  it  is  difficult 
to  cure,  unless  a  good  "spell "  can  be  caught.  However,  if 
the  farmer  has  a  drove  of  mules  or  steers  to  fatten,  he  can 
cut  a  load  or  two  at  a  time,  throwing  it  into  a  rack,  which 
can  be  replenished  as  required,  and  the  hay  will  remain 
green  on  the  ground  until  frost,  so  that  there  is  no  danger 
of  its  being  lost  by  becoming  too  ripe. 

In  Germany  the  seeds  are  deprived  of  the  chaff,  and 
used  as  rice,  and  sells  for  the  same  price.  In  Asia  and 
Africa  it  is  made  into  a  meal  and  eaten,  either  in  gruel, 
cakes  or  bread.  It  can  be  sown  at  any  time  from  the  first 
of  April,  (a  light  frost  not  injuring  it,)  until  the  first  of 
July. 

If  fed  on  the  ground  the  stalks  will  remain  in  the  way  of 
the  planter  for  a  year  at  least,  but  if  plowed  under  in  the 
fall,  like  broom  corn,  they  will  rot  by  spring,  and  if  lime 
is  sown  on  them  before  plowing  under,  it  will  greatly  ex- 
pedite the  process,  and  the  soil  will  improve  every  year. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  fact,  that  it  will  yield  more 
seed,  fodder  and  stalks  on  a  greater  variety  of  soils,  with 
less  labor,  in  any  kind  of  season,  and  return  more  litter  to 
the  land  than  any  other  cereal,  and  being  a  good  food 
for  man  and  beast,  it  may  be  jusfly  considered  one  of  the 
most  valuable  of  the  cereals.  And  with  these  facts  it  is 
most  surprising  that  it  is  raised  to  the  small  extent  it  is. 


DHOTIRO    CORN. 


339 


About  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago,  it  could  be  seen  on 
the  plantation  of  almost  every  farmer  in  the  State.  It 
gave  very  general  satisfaction,  and  yet  it  went  out  as  sud- 
denly as  it  came  into  popularity.  This  was  due  to  the  cry 
that  it  impoverished  the  land.  This  verdict  was  accepted 
without  question,  and  its  culture  abandoned ;  but  it  is 
manifest,  from  subsequent  experiments,  that  it  detracts  as 
little  from  the  fertility  of  the  soil  as  any  other  cereal,  much 
less  than  some. 

If  the  stalks  are  left  and  only  the  grain  and  fodder 
removed,  and  the  former  fed  on  the  field,  and  plowed  in  as 
before  stated,  the  soil  will  not  be  greatly  injured.  It  will 
not  kill  cattle  like  clover,  and  no  care  is  necessary  but  to 
salt  and  water  them.  One  would  be  surprised  how  quickly 
cattle  will  fatten  on  the  bare  stalks,  and  besides  they  will 
leave  the  ground  covered  ankle  deep  with  manured  stalks. 

With  all  these  facts  before  us,  and  our  own  experience  in 
its  cultivation,  we  most  heartily  commend  its  use  to  the 
citizens  of  Tennessee.  There  is  no  character  of  soil,  from 
the  rich  alluvial  bottoms  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  sterile 
mountain  lands  of  East  Tennessee,  but  what  will  make 
good  crops  of  Dhouro  Corn,  and  we  would  like  to  see  it  on 
every  farm,  if  for  no  other  use  than  as  feed  for  fowls. 

The  following  analysis  of  the  green  fodder  and  green 
clover  will  show  their  comparative  values : 


1 

£  * 

S3 

6? 

OS 

4 
3 

eo 

S3 

1§ 

a 

£3 

££ 
°£ 

|2 

S-S 

OP=H 

1 

Red  Clover  in  blossom  
Dhouro                .        ... 

78.0 
77.3 

20.3 
21.4 

1.7 

1.1 

3.7 
2.9 

8.6 
11.9 

8.0 
6.7 

0.8 
1  4 

It  has  more  heating  properties  and  more  fat  producing 
principles  than  red  clover,  but  is  not  so  rich  in  flesh 
formers. 


340 


CEREALS. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


INDIAN  CORN-(£ea  Mays.) 

Stem  terminated  by  the  clustered,  slender  spikes  of  staminate  flowers 

(the  tassel)  in  two-flowered  spikelets; 
the  pistillate  flowers  in  a  dense  and 
many-rowed  spike,  borne  on  a  short 
axillary  branch;  (the  ear)  two  flowers 
within  each  pair  of  glumes,  but  the 
lower  one  neutral,  the  upper  pistillate 
with  an  extremely  long  style,  (the 
silk.)  Stem  strong,  jointed,  five  to 
fifteen  feet  high,  with  large,  alternate 
leaves  starting  from  each  joint,  mo- 
noecious and  annual. 

Each  plant  bears  from  one 
to  six  or  eight  ears  which  are 
cylindrical,  and  enclosed  with 
a  covering  of  leaves  called 
shucks  or  husks.  The  centre 
of  the  ear  is  pithy  called  cob, 
and  on  the  cob  are  arranged  rows  of  grain,  numbering 
from  eight  to  thirty-six ;  usually  twelve  to  fourteen  rows. 
The  number  of  grains  in  a  row  is  usually  thirty  to  forty. 
These  grains  are  rounded  on  the  outer  surface,  flattened  on 
the  sides,  and  the  germ  is  near  the  point,  and  from  the 
germ  a  long,  silk  or  style  extends  under  the  husk  to  the  end 
where  they  all  unite  in  a  silky  cluster.  The  pollen  from 
the  tassel  falls  upon  these  silks  or  flowers,  thus  fertilizing 
the  grains.  Without  this  pollen  the  seed  would  not  ger- 
minate nor  would  the  ear  be  completed,  as  may  easily  be 
tested  by  cutting  off  the  tassel  before  the  silk  appears.  On 
a  bright  day  the  pollen  may  be  seen  in  the  sunshine,  rising 


INDIAN   CORN.  341 

in  clouds,  with  every  stirring  breeze.  The  name  given  by 
the  Indians  to  this  cereal  was  Mondarnin,  meaning  life,  and 
so  the  name  given  by  botanists  is  in  deference  to  the  cog- 
nomen of  the  aborogines,  Zea,  meaning  life  in  the  Greek. 

HISTORY. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  the  early  history  of  the  bread 
plants  is  enveloped  in  obscurity,  and  come  to  us  in  the  form 
of  traditions,  and  myths,  according  to  which  the  gods 
themselves  descended  to  the  earth  to  confer  these  great  gifts 
on  mankind,  in  India  it  was  Brahma;  in  Egypt  Isis;  in 
Greece  and  Italy  it  was  Ceres  or  Demeter,  who  not  only 
brought  them  to  the  inhabitants,  but  taught  them  their  uses. 
Maize  being  unquestionably  of  American  origin,  has  its 
legend  also  of  the  birth  of  so  noble  a  grain,  and  upon  this 
allegory  our  Longfellow  has  founded  his  Indian  Epic 
Hiawatha.  The  legend  is  given  in  Schoolcraft's  history  of 
the  Indian  tribes  of  North  America,  and  is  located  among 
the  Odjibwas.  It  is  as  follows: 

"  A  young  man  went  out  into  the  woods  to  fast,  at  that 
period  of  life  when  youth  is  being  exchanged  for  manhood. 
He  built  a  lodge  of  boughs  in  a  secluded  place,  and  painted 
his  face  a  sombre  hue.  By  day  he  amused  himself  in  walk- 
ing about,  looking  at  the  shrubs  and  wild  plants,  and  at 
night  he  lay  down  in  his  bower  which,  being  open,  allowed 
him  to  look  up  into  the  sky.  He  sought  a  gift  from  the 
Master  of  life  and  he  hoped  it  would  be  something  to  ben- 
efit his  race.  On  the  third  day  he  became  too  weak  to 
leave  his  lodge,  and  as  he  lay  gazing  upwards  he  saw  a 
spirit  come  down  in  the  shape  of  a  beautiful  young  man 
dressed  in  green,  and  having  green  plumes  on  his  head, 
who  told  him  to  arise  and  wrestle  with  him,  as  this  was  the 
only  way  in  which  he  could  obtain  his  wishes.  He  did  so, 
and  found  his  strength  renewed  by  the  effort.  This  visit 
and  the  trial  of  wrestling  were  repeated  for  three  days,  the 
youth  feeling,  at  each  trial,  that  although  his  bodily 


342  CEREALS. 

strength  declined,  a  moral  and  a  supernatural  energy  was 
imparted  which  promised  him  the  final  victory.  On  the 
third  day  the  Celestial  visitor  spake  to  him :  'To-mor- 
row/ said  he,  'will  be  the  seventh  day  of  your  fast,  and 
the  last  time  I  shall  wrestle  with  you.  You  will  triumph 
over  me  and  gain  your  wishes.  As  soon  as  you  have  thrown 
me  down  strip  off  my  clothes  and  bury  me  in  the  spot,  in 
soft,  fresh  earth.  When  you  have  done  this  leave  me,  but 
come  and  keep  the  weeds  from  growing  on  the  place.  Once 
or  twice,  cover  me  up  with  fresh  earth/  He  then  de- 
parted, but  returned  the  next  day,  and,  as  predicted,  was 
thrown  down.  The  young  man  punctually  obeyed  his  in- 
structions in  every  particular,  and  soon  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  the  green  plumes  of  his  sky-visitor  shooting  up 
through  the  ground.  He  carefully  weeded  the  earth,  and 
kept  it  soft  and  fresh  ,  and  in  due  time  was  gratified  at  be- 
holding the  m  atured  plant,  bending  with  its  rich  fruit,  and 
waving  its  green  leaves  and  yellow  tassels,  in  the  wind. 
He  then  invited  his  parents  to  the  spot  to  behold  the  new 
plant.  'It  is  Mondamin'  replied  his  father — 'it  is  the 
spirit's  grain/  They  immediately  prepared  a  feast  and  in- 
vited their  friends  to  partake  of  it,  and  this  is  the  origin  of 
Indian  corn." 

Among  all  the  crops  of  the  United  States  Indian  corn 
takes  precedence  in  the  scale  of  crops,  as  it  is  best  and  most 
universally  adapted  to  all  conditions  of  climate  and  soil,  and 
furnishes  the  largest  amount  of  nutritive  food.  With 
proper  attention  to  its  cultivation,  and  the  selection  of  best 
varieties,  it  may  be  accounted  a  sure  crop,  as  well  in  the 
ice-bound  regions  of  Canada  as  in  the  torrid  sands  of  Cali- 
fornia, in  fact  its  culture  extends  between  the  latitudes  of 
45°  north,  and  the  same  in  the  soatheru  hemisphere. 

Cotton  has  received  the  name  of  "  King."  But  if  in 
America  any  plant  can  be  said  to  have  dominion  over  all 
others,  both  on  account  of  its  universal  use  and  its  im- 
portance to  mankind,  both  as  human  and  animal  food, 


INDIAN   COEN.  343 

that  title  is  due  to  corn.  Its  cultivation  is  not  like  cotton, 
confined  to  one  belt  or  to  one  soil,  but  it  will  grow  on  the 
sandy  hills,  or  the  alluvial  bottoms,  on  the  moist  savan- 
nahs of  the  South,  and  upon  the  highest  peaks  of  the 
Eastern  States,  it  having  been  successfully  grown  on  eleva- 
tions eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 

A.n  expressive  mode  of  representing  the  range  of  this 
staple  is,  by  reference  to  extreme  points  on  the  several 
meridians  of  longitude,  from  the  Atlantic  coast  westward; 
and  though  we  have  no  abrupt  limits  at  the  South  other 
than  those  of  the  continent  itself,  or  none  in  climate  at 
least,  we  shall  find  the  measure  of  distance  on  these  lines  of 
longitude  of  some  service,  The  bay  of  Fundy  and  the 
valleys  of  New  Brunswick  bring  this  cultivation  up  to  the 
46th  parallel,  at  from  64°  to  67°  of  west  longitude.  In  the 
highlands  of  Maine  it  falls  off  to  less  than  45°,  and  in  New 
Hampshire  to  44°.  But  it  then  rises  abruptly  to  47J°at  St. 
Anne's  and  at  Quebec  72°  west  longitude.  The  moun- 
tainous parts  of  New  York  and  some  parts  of  Western 
Canada,  between  the  Ottowa  river  and  Lake  Huron,  permit 
no  cultivation  of  this  crop;  but  the  river  valleys  and  better 
portion  of  the  country  have  some  adaptation  to  it,  to  the 
46°  of  latitude,  as  far  west  as  Lake  Huron  at  82°  of  west 
longitude.  The  influence  of  the  lakes  and  the  elevation, 
reduce  the  summer  temperature  so  much  at  this  point,  as  to 
throw  the  limiting  line  southward  to  45°  of  latitude,  and 
this  line  continues  west  almost  to  the  Mississippi.  Passing 
this  elevated  district  and  approaching  the  warmer  summer 
of  the  plains,  it  goes  abruptly  north  to  50°  of  latitude,  at 
Lake  Winnepeg  97°  west  longitude.  This  is  probably  its 
highest  point,  and  measured  on  this  meridian  we  have  23° 
of  latitude  in  the  United  States,  and  the  whole  amount  of 
35°  for  the  American  continent,  as  the  range  of  a  single 
cultivated  staple,  and  everywhere  on  this  line,  it  is  at  least 
equal  to  any  other  in  value.  Westward  of  this  line  the 
range  becomes  so  irregular  and  exceptional  between  the  ex- 


344 


CEREALS. 


treme  points,  that  the  comparison  is  not  of  the  same  value. 
Localities  of  the  upper  Missouri  permit  some  amount  of 
cultivation  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  to  47  J° 
of  latitude.  On  the  west  of  these  mountains  it  re-appears 
in  the  same  latitude,  and  in  the  lower  valleys  of  the  north 
fork  of  the  Columbia  it  goes  to  Fort  Colville,  near  49°  of 
latitude  This  is  another  extreme  point  of  range,  and 
though  much  the  larger  portion  of  this  great  elevated  in- 
terior, southward  to  New  Mexico,  admits  but  a  partial  and 
imperfect  cultivation,  the  climatic  range  is  interesting  at 
least.  At  120°  of  longitude,  the  growth  ceases  for  all  lati- 
tudes on  this  continent,  but  between  97°  and  120°,  the 
whole  continent  is  embraced  south  of  the  points  just  named, 
in  its  range  of  growth,  except  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
the  plateau  north  of  New  Mexico. 

A  brief  reference  to  the  European  range  will  show  the 
measure  of  contrast  between  the  two  continents  in  this  re- 
spect. Africa  is  so  entirely  tropical  that  it  has  little  place 
tor  Indian  corn,  though  it  is  cultivated  to  some  extent  near 
the  Mediterranean. 

In  Europe,  Spain,  a  small  part  of  the  south  of  France, 
Italy,  the  valleys  of  Austria,  Hungary  and  Turkey, 
with  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean,  comprise  its  range. 
In  almost  all  these  districts  it  is  also  quite  subordinate  to 
other  staples,  though  imperfect  cultivation  may  be  one 
reason  of  this  inferiority.  Over  the  more  densely  popu- 
lated and  valuable  portions  of  Europe,  it  scarcely  grows  at 
all;  and  the  little  grown  in  France,  north  of  the  mountains, 
and  in  Germany,  Austria  and  Russia,  scarcely  gives  it 
any  importance.  The  single  element  of  greater  heat 
for  one  month  of  the  summer  is  wanting ;  and  so  pre- 
cise and  imperative  is  the  requirement,  in  this  respect,  that 
no  skill  seems  likely  to  acclimatize  Indian  corn  in  the  more 
important  European  countries  just  named,  and  in  the  British 
Islands.  From  a  table  of  mean  temperatures  for  the  various 
stations  named  above,  it  appears  that  this  cereal  is  suscep- 


INDIAN    CORN.  345 

tible  of  cultivation  at  any  point  where  the  mean  tempera- 
ture of  the  month  of  July  is  not  less  than  64°  Fah. 

The  observations  upon  which  the  above  facts  are  com- 
piled, were  made  principally  by  military  commanders  and 
missionaries,  at  the  outposts  of  the  North,  during  a  period, 
ranging  from  one  to  twenty-one  years. 

The  corn  plant  or  its  grain  formed  the  subject  of  very 
imposing  ceremonies  among  the  Indians,  and  the  "corn 
dance,"  at  the  time  it  came  into  its  roasting-ear  state,  was 
looked  forward  to  by  both  young  and  old  as  the  foreruner  of 
fun  and  frolic,  with  the  belles  of  the  wood,  the  aged  for 
its  more  solid  uses,  as  it  then  formed  the  great  and  nearly 
only  luxury  of  the  Indian.  Although  much  has  been 
written  to  prove  its  Eastern  origin,  it  did  not  grow  in  that 
part  of  Asia  traversed  by  Alexander  the  Great,  as  Nearhus 
the  commander  of  the  fleet  has  left  a  work  giving  the  names 
of  all  the  productions  of  the  country,  and  describing  them. 
Corn  is  not  of  the  number.  Nor  is  there  any  account 
of  it  among  the  works  of  any  of  the  ancient  au- 
thors. In  fact,  until  Columbus  discovered  America,  it  had 
never  entered  the  annals  of  the  historian.  But  in  America 
it  was  not  only  found  in  cultivation,  but  it  was  subsequent- 
ly found  growing  wild  all  along  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  range,  though  here  each  grain  was  clothed 
in  a  separate  husk  which,  however,  it  looses,  in  a  few 
years,  by  cultivation.  Nor  was  its  cultivation  confined 
by  any  means  to  North  America,  for  La  Vega  tells  us 
that  one  of  the  Incas  of  Peru  had  a  miniature  garden 
at  his  palace  in  which  was  maize  of  some  size,  and 
in  quantity  sufficient  to  represent  a  field  made  entirely 
of  silver  and  gold,  and  that  it  had  the  grain,  leaves,  and 
even  the  tassels  all  complete,  as  in  the  natural  state ;  an  ev- 
idence of  the  veneration  of  this  people  for  this  cereal. 

Among  Europeans  the  "  London  Colonists,"  on  James 
River,  have  the  credit  of  its  first  cultivation  in  1608.  They 
were  taught  by  the  Indians,  and  with  some  improvement  in 


346  CEEEALS. 

implements  this  plan  is  still  pursued  by  all  the  planters  of 
the  United  States. 

The  yield  in  the  Virginia  soil  is  said  to  have  been  im- 
mense— more  than  a  thousand  fold,  far  more  than  is  ever 
raised  at  this  day.  In  1609  the  first  regular  field,  consist- 
ing of  forty  acres,  was  planted  by  these  colonists  on  James 
River,  and  these  bold  pioneers  of -the  new  world  first  felt 
themselves  secure  from  famine. 

In  1621  two  Indian  chiefs,  Somoset  and  Squanto,  visited 
the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  and  greatly  to  the  dissatisfaction 
of  the  other  Indians,  taught  them  how  to  prepare  the  soil 
and  plant  the  corn.  They  also  planted  peas  and  barley,  the 
seed  of  which  they  had  brought  over  with  them.  They  placed 
in  each  hill  of  corn  an  alewife,  a  species  of  herring,  as  ma- 
nure. The  corn  did  so  well  that  samples  of  it  were  sent  to 
England,  but  the  barley  and  the  peas  failed.  The  same 
year  Stephen  Hopkins  and  Edward  Winslow  went  to  the 
the  village  of  Namasket,  situated  where  Middleborough 
now  stands,  and  they  were  received  with  great  hospitality 
by  the  Indians,  who  instituted  feasts  in  their  honor,  the 
principal  constituents  of  which  was  corn  bread,  which  they 
called  mazinne,  whence  the  specific  name  maize,  which  with 
venison  steaks  and  shad  formed  a  very  savory  meal  to  the 
half  starved  emigrants.  In  1629  the  settlers  raised,  on 
the  Maseachusetts  Bay  large  crops,  which  yielded  about 
five  hundredfold.  Thirteen  gallons  of  seed  planted  yield- 
ed three  hundred  and  sixty-four  bushels  in  one  field,  which 
at  the  present  rate  of  planting  would  give  about  fifty-six 
bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre.  This  was  a  very  fair  crop,  but 
not  so  good  as  that  of  the  Virginia  colonists,  who  more  than 
doubled  the  amount.  But  in  the  early  settlement  of  Il- 
linois, on  the  bottoms  and  rich  prairie  lands,  the  yield  often 
equalled  that  of  the  London  colonists. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  know  the  value  of  this  cereal  in 
that  early  day,  and  from  a  price  list  before  us  we  see  that  in 
1630  corn  sold  in  Massachusetts  Bay  at  10s.  per  bushel, 


INDIAN    COKN.  347 

($2  50) ;  in  New  Netherland  in  1650,  10  to  15  stivers  per 
skepel,  (15  to  20  cts.  per  bushel);  in  Virginia  in  1821,  2s. 
and  6d.,  (62  cts.)  per  bushel;  in  Rhode  Island  in  1670,  25 
cts.  per  bushel,  and  on  the  Piscataqua  75  cents  per  bush- 
el. Taking  the  value  of  money  at  that  early  day,  as  com- 
pared with  the  present,  these  prices  would  be  equal  to  about 
four  times  our  currency.  Since  that  day  the  price  has  fluc- 
tuated with  the  supply.  There  is  always  a  demand  for  all 
that  may  be  produced,  but  the  seasons  sometimes  are  so  un- 
propitious  that  partial  failures  in  sections  create  a  brisk 
trade,  and  full  prices  in  that  section.  Formerly  these  fail- 
ures entailed  great  distress  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of 
transportation,  but  the  rail-roads  have,  to  a  great  extent,  ob- 
viated that  difficulty.  We  all  remember  the  drought  of 
1854,  when  nearly  the  whole  crop,  except  on  the  river  bot- 
toms, was  a  total  failure,  and  then  corn  was  in  great  de- 
mand, at  from  $1  50  to  $2  00  per  bushel.  In  1874  anoth- 
er drought  rendered  it  necessary  for  much  of  our  supply  to 
be  brought  from  the  Western  States,  but  it  was  freely  sold 
at  $1  00  per  bushel.  A  total  failure  of  this  important  crop 
would  entail  a  degree  of  distress  on  the  United  States  incal- 
culable, but  there  is  such  a  diversity  of  climate  and  soil,  and 
its  cultivation  is  so  universal  that  a  general  drought  will 
not  in  all  probability  ever  take  place,  and  the  whole  coun- 
try being  intersected  and  threaded  by  rail-roads,  the  fa- 
cility of  quickly  supplying  any  deficiency  at  any  point  will 
always  save,  at  least,  a  famine  for  man  or  beast. 

VARIETIES. 

When  first  discovered  in  America  there  was  but  one  va- 
riety known.  But  since  that  time,  its  importance  has  stim- 
ulated experiments,  with  the  view  of  improvement,  and  the 
result  is  that  the  species  has  been  divided  into  innumerable 
varieties.  These  modifications  are  the  result  of  differences 
in  soil,  cultivation,  and  climate,  and  subsequent  hybridiz- 
ing. Many  of  these  varieties  are  suitable  to  the  section  in 


348  CEREALS. 

which  they  originated,  and  though  making  enormous  yields 
there,  carried  to  a  warmer  or  colder  climate,  they  do  not 
fulfill  the  promise  that  seemed  so  fair.  I  have  seen  the  finest, 
largest,  premium  corn  brought  from  the  prairies  of  Illi- 
nois, and  planted  in  rich  land  in  this  State,  with  the  expec- 
tation of  good  crops,  yet  the  yield  so  far  from  being  good, 
was  astonishingly  small.  It  may  be  set  down  as  a  rule  that 
the  best  plan  is  to  select  the  good  corn  of  the  State  or  coun- 
ty and  improve  on  that  by  cultivation.  For  instance — a 
farmer  in  Rutherford,  many  years  ago,  began  with  the  white 
cob  gourd  seed  corn,  that  had  from  twelve  to  fourteen  rows 
of  grains,  and  by  prudent  selections  and  close  attention,  in 
a  few  years  he  brought  it  up  to  34  and  36  rows  of 
grains  to  the  ear,  with  a  cob  three  inches  in  diameter,  and 
this  specimen  will  shell  out  a  bushel  of  grain  to  fifty  ears. 

As  a  general  thing,  the  names  of  the  different  varieties 
are  taken  from  the  originator  or  some  fancied  resemblance, 
and  so  that  in  two  sections  the  same  corn  will  be 
known  by  different  names.  Some  that  have  acquired  a  gen- 
eral reputation  have  a  name  common  to  the  whole  country, 
and  to  these  we  shall  have  to  confine  our  remarks.  The  col- 
ors of  corn  are  often  taken  as  a  distinction,  and  they  depend 
on  the  epidermis  generally,  though  sometimes  on  the  oil  of 
the  grain,  if,  however,  the  epidermis  be  transparent  the 
color  will  depend  either  upon  the  oil  or  the  combined  parti- 
cles of  which  the  grain  is  composed.  If  the  hull  is  opaque 
of  course  the  color  depends  entirely  on  the  epidermis. 
Some  corn  is  rich  in  a  yellow  oil,  and  the  hull  being  trans- 
parent, the  grain  takes  the  color  from  the  oil.  Others  have 
a  yellow  hull  or  epidermis,  and  the  grain  is  white  within, 
yet  it  receives  its  color  from  the  external  coloring  matter. 

It  is  thus  with  the  Golden  Sioux,  which  has  a  yellow  oil 
all  through  the  grain  but  a  transparent  hull,  and  the  White 
Flint,  each  taking  its  color  from  its  oil  and  starch.  But 
there  are  others,  red,  yellow,  blue,  and  white  varieties,  that 
are  colored  by  the  epidermis  alone.  As  an  explanation  of 


INDIAN    COEN.  349 

these  varying  colors  would  no  doubt  interest  the  reader,  if 
he  will  split  a  grain  of  corn  longitudinally  and  let  it  drop 
into  a  solution  of  blue  vitriol,  (sulphate  of  copper),  such 
as  is  used  for  soaking  wheat,  the  germ  will  become  green, 
because  the  phosphates  only  exist  in  the  germ,  and  by  the 
action  of  the  agent  on  these  phosphates,  the  copper  unites 
with  them,  and  phosphate  of  copper,  which  is  green,  is  the 
result.  Or,  by  dropping  it  into  a  solution  of  the  sulphy- 
drate  of  ammonia,  the  green  will  turn  a  dark  olive  color, 
which  arises  from  the  change  of  the  salts  of  iron  into  a  sul- 
phuret  of  iron. 

Thus  it  is  apparent  that  the  color  is  modified  by  whatever 
constituents  are  iound  in  the  soil,  and  these  changes,  by 
constant  application,  become  permanent.  Many  theories 
have  been  evolved  in  regard  to  the  importance  of  improv- 
ing the  kinds,  and  in  fact  starting  new  varieties,  by  selec- 
tion of  seed  from  the  butts,  tips  and  centres  of  the  ear. 

In  proof  of  the  efficacy  of  this  plan,  many  elaborate 
treatises  have  been  written  to  prove  the  favorite  spot  from 
which  to  select  seed,  with,  in  ail  cases,  very  startling  results. 
But  Prof.  Daniells  of  the  University  farm  of  Wisconsin,  an 
accepted  authority  on  all  agricultural  subjects,  instituted  a 
series  sf  experiments  conducted  with  great  care,  and  long 
continued,  and  having  grown  corn  from  each  end  and  the 
middle,  came  to  the  conclusion  there  was  no  practical 
difference. 

Among  other  authors,  however,  is  Dr.  Flint,  who  claims 
to  have  seen  it  tested  at  the  Massachusetts  State  farm  in 
1858,  with  the  following  result,  viz: 

Value  of  crop  planted  from  seed   at  large   end,   same 
number  of  seed  planted  in  each  case,  and  receiving  same 
treatment  and  on  same  soil, 
738  pounds  of  sound  corn  at  1  cent, $7  38 

77  pounds  soft  corn  at  J  cent, , 39 

1360  pounds  fodder  at  |7  per  ton, , 4  76 

$12  53 


350  CEREALS. 

Value  of  product  of  rows  planted  with  corn  taken  from 
the  middle  of  ear, 

663  pounds  sound  corn,  at  1  cent  per  Ib, §6  63 

164  pounds  soft  corn;  at  J  cent  per  Ib, 82 

1200  pounds  fodder; 4  51 

96 

Valtre  of  product  of  rows  planted  with  grain  from  small 
end  or  tips  of  the  ears, 


747  pounds  sound  corn, $7  47 

53  pounds  soft  corn, 27 

1320  pounds  fodder, 4  62 

$12  36 

He  recommends  a  further  trial,  though  the  above  was 
conducted  on  the  fairest  principles.  However,  it  proves 
nothing,  and  we  are  inclined  to  accept  the  result  of  Prof. 
Daniells'  experiments. 

One  thing  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  selecting  seed,  bv 
those  wishing  to  start  a  new .  variety.  In  the  first  place, 
select  the  seed  that  is  best  adapted  to  the  land  to  be  culti- 
vated. Actual  experience  can  only  give  the  true  solution 
as  to  which  is  the  best.  Select  in  the  fall,  while  the  corn 
is  yet  on  the  stalks,  large  ears,  from  those  stalks  only 
which  have  two  or  more  ears.  Also  notice  the  length  of 
the  butt  of  the  shuck,  and  get  ears  with  short  stems.  And 
lastly,  get  ears  that  grow  low  on  the  stalk.  Do  this  for  a 
few  years  judiciously,  and  every  man  can  have  a  variety  of 
his  own. 

The  varieties  are  innumerable  from  this  very  reason,  and 
while  it  is  impossible  to  collect  all  the  names,  it  is  equally 
unnecessary  to  do  so.  But  there  are  some  of  national 
celebrity,  chiefly  made  so  through  the  dessemination  of 


INDIAN   CORN.  351 

seeds   by   the   Patent   Office   or   Agricultural    Bureau    at 
Washington. 

Among  these  are,  1st,  the  "Wild  Corn,"  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  with  husk  to  every  grain ;  2d,  "Early  Canada  ;" 
3rd,  "Improved  King  Philip  or  Brown  Corn ;"  4th, 
"Golden  Sioux;"  5th,  "Tuscarora ;"  6th,  "New  Mexican 
or  Black  Corn ;"  6th,  "Stowells  Evergreen  ;"  8th,  "White 
Gourd  Seed;"  9th,  "Mexican  White  Flint;"  10th,  "Yel- 
low Gourd  Seed;"  llth,  "Shoepeg ;"  12th,  "Eight-rowed 
Yellow;"  13th,  "Twelve-rowed  Button;"  14th,  "Golden 
Flint;"  15th,  "Sweet  or  Sugar  Corn;"  16th,  Adams' 
Early  ;"  17th,  Runners'  White  ;"  18th,  "Cooley's  White  ;" 
19th,  "Kentucky  Field;"  20th,  "Wyandotte  Gourd  Seed ;" 
with  many  others,  and  last  and  least,  but  important,  "  Pop 
Corn"  of  which  there  are  also  several  varieties,  and  the 
smallest  and  perhaps  the  best  is  Dixie  Corn. 

Prof,  A.  E.  Blount,  of  Cleveland,  in  this  State,  has  by 
careful  culture  and  selection,  produced  an  exceedingly  pro- 
lific variety  «which  is  highly  commended.  I  learn  from 
Prof.  Blount  that  he  produces  over  100  bushels  to  the  acre 
of  this  corn,  sometimes  as  many  as  six  and  eight  ears 
growing  upon  one  stalk. 

In  effect  we  have  two  general  varieties,  the  ."White"  and 
the  "Yellow,"  and  these  are  sub-divided  into  the  "Flint" 
and  "Gourd  Seed."  All  the  balance  are  modified  forms  of 
these.  Of  course  this  division  excludes  Pop  corn,  which  is 
nothing  more  than  the  petit  grandchild  of  the  wild  corn. 

Many  of  the  above  named  varieties  have  been  sent  out 
by  the  "Agricultural  Bureau,"  and  their  qualities  have 
been  tested  all  over  the  country,  and  the  results,  always 
enormous,  given  to  the  country  in  the  "Reports."  That 
these  seeds  have  produced  fine  crops,  is  mainly  due  to  the 
method  of  cultivation,  being  sent  out  in  minute  packages, 
they  received  extra  attention. 

The  practical  conclusion  of  all  these  experiments  is,  that 
f  we  want  good  bread,  we  plant  the  "White  Flint ;"  if 


352  CEREALS. 

good  stock  corn,  the  "White  Gourd  Seed  ;"  while  for  hogs, 
the  favorite  sorts  are  the  "Yellow  or  Red  corn."  These 
kinds  have  proved  themselves  to  be  the  corn  for  Tennessee, 
and  whenever  the  Southern  farmer  sends  north  of  the  Ohio 
for  corn  seed,  he  will  be  ashamed  of  his  corn  field  in 
summer. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  analyses  here  appended,  that 
there  are  material  differences  in  the  very  constituents  of 
these  varieties  of  corn,  calculated  to  adapt  them  for  the 
very  uses  to  which  they  are  applied.  The  White  corn 
abounds  in  starch;  and  is  almost  destitute  of  oil,  and  so 
is  well  suited  for  bread  and  hominy;  while  the  yellow 
corn  contains  a  large  proportion  of  oil,  which,  as  a  fat 
producer,  is  adapted  to  the  fattening  process.  Many  per- 
sons lay  great  stress  on  the  size  and  color  of  the  cob,  and 
not  without  reason.  In  Middle  Tennessee,  the  "Little  red 
cob,"  or  Willis  corn,  is  a  favorite  with  almost  everyone. 
As  a  rule  this  is  a  gourd  seed  and  the  ear  is  nearly  all 
grain,  as  the  cob  is  very  small,  while  the  grains  are  very 
long  and  have  very  fine  tips,  barely  touching  the  cob  and 
crowding  outward. 

The  white  cob  is  generally  a  flint,  and  makes  excellent 
bread,  giving  less  bran  than  the  gourd  seed,  but  from  the 
hardness  of  its  grains  is  not  so  well  suited  for  horses. 

One  of  these  flint  varieties  is  the  "Hominy  Corn,"  which, 
as  its  name  implies,  is  used  almost  solely  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  hominy.  The  flints  are  much  less  apt  to  injure 
from  exposure  to  the  weather,  the  gourd  seed  being  more 
pervious  to  moisture.  The  "  Yellow"  and  "  Red"  are  sup- 
posed to  be  more  prolific,  the  ears  being  larger,  the  grain 
heavier,  and  the  stalks  more  vigorous.  The  large  crops  of 
the  country,  to  be  hereafter  noticed,  are  usually  Yellow 
corn. 

The  subjoined  tables  of  analysis  will  give  a  good  idea  of 
the  composition  of  the  several  sorts. 

The  relative  proportions  of  the  constituents  of  each  corn 


INDIAN   COEN.  353 

depend  on  the  appropriating  power  of  each  species.  For 
instance,  the  sweet  corns  take  twice  as  much  of  the  phos- 
phates from  the  soil  as  white  flint.  Yet,  these  two  have 
been  planted  together,  and  grains  of  each  found  on  the  same 
ear.  Let  these  grains  that  grow  side  by  side  on  the  same 
ear  and  stalk,  that  received  the  same  nourishment,  be  split 
and  immersed  in  a  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper,  and  the 
green  color  given  indicates  more  than  double  the  amount  of 
phosphate  in  the  sweet  than  in  the  flint. 

Take  specimens  of  grains  split  as  before  directed  and 
immerse  them  in  tincture  of  iodine,  and  the  limits  of  starch 
and  dextrine  will  be  exactly  defined,  the  iodine  making  an 
intense  blue  with  the  starch,  and  a  port  wine  color  with  the 
dextrine  or  gum.  The  horny  covering  of  the  grain  has 
so 'much  oil  combined  with  the  gluten,  its  chief  element, 
that  it  is  protected  from  the  action  of  the  re-agents,  though, 
if  the  oil  be  extracted  by  immersing  in  alcohol,  the  starch 
will  be  seen  in  this  portion  also.  By  these  and  the  before- 
mentioned  experiments,  the  precise  amount  of  the  phos- 
phates, oils,  irons,  dextrine  and  starch  can  be  ascertained 
in  each  variety,  and  thus  the  farmers  will  be  able  to  apply 
the  precise  elements  requisite  for  the  formation  of  the 
grain. 

Now,  one  of  the  practical  results  of  the  knowledge  ob- 
tained is,  that  the  more  phosphates  contained  in  corn,  the 
more  osseous  or  bony  matter  supplied  to  the  animal  fed 
with  it ;  hence  old  animals  fed  largely  on  corn  are  disposed 
to  gout  or  stiffness,  which  is  produced  by  the  deposits  of 
the  superabundance  of  bony  matter  in  the  joints,  forming 
small  concretions  of  phosphate  of  lime.  Every  one  has 
noticed  about  the  knees  of  old  horses  these  knots. 

With  regard  to  the  relative  proportions  of  starch  in  the 
different  varieties  of  corn,  it  has  been  observed  that  the 
white  soft  corns  contain  the  most,  but  contain  little  or  no 
oil  or  gluten.  The  Mexican  Black  is  likewise  chiefly  com- 
posed of  starch,  while  the  Yellows  have  a  large  proportion 
23 


354  CEREALS. 

of  oil.  Pop  corn  has  the  least  starch  of  any  of  the  varie- 
ties and  the  most  oil. 

It  will  be  remarked  there  is  a  great  difference  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  oily  and  glutinous  parts  of  corn.  Many  of 
our  Southern  kinds  have  it  deposited  on  the  sides,  while  the 
starch  is  in  the  centre  and  extends  to  the  top  of  the  grain 
bulging  it  up  in  a  rounded  form,  and  when  the  grain  be- 
comes dry  the  starch  cells  retract,  causing  the  top  of  the 
grain  to  be  rough,  having  little  dints  or  pits  in  it. 

The  horny  outer  covering  of  the  grain  is  composed  largely 
of  oil  and  gluten,  with  some  starch  interspersed.  In  the 
process  of  the  fermentation  of  malt  in  distilling  corn,  this 
oil  rises  to  the  surface  and  is  sometimes  saved  and  used  for 
illuminating  purposes.  As  much  as  11  per  cent  of  oil  is 
found  in  some  varieties.  On  this  oil  depend  its  keeping 
qualities,  as  it  retards  decomposition.  Thus  corn,  planted, 
is  enabled  to  preserve,  through  its  oily  portions,  a  sufficient 
amount  of  pabulum  to  support  the  young  plant,  until  it 
has  time  to  throw  out  roots  and  get  its  support  from  the 
soil.  Also  meal  made  of  the  flinty  corns  will  keep  well, 
its  oil  preserving  it ;  while  the  soft  corn  meal,  unless  kiln- 
dried,  will  soon  sour.  The  abundance  of  oil  makes  corn 
pop.  The  oil  when  heated  to  a  certain  point  becomes 
Suddenly  decomposed,  and  in  such  a  violent  manner  the 
cells  are  ruptured  by  the  sudden  expansion  of  the  carburetted 
hydrogen  gas  formed  by  the  decomposed  oil,  and  the  whole 
grain  is  retrofexed  on  itself. 

The  proportions  of  oil  in  corn  varies  with  the  variety, 
being  as  much  as  11  per  cent  in  some,  and  becoming  less  in 
others,  down  to  none.  One  hundred  bushels  of  ordinary 
flint  corn  will  yield  fifteen  gallons  of  oil.  If  corn  be 
placed  in  lye  the  oil  next  the  hull  forms  with  lye  a  soap, 
which  causes  the  skin  to  slip  off  easily,  and  this  is  the 
manner  in  which  lye  hominy  is  made.  The  lye  not  only 
loosens  the  skin,  but  acting  on  the  mucilage  around  the 
germ  liberates  that  too.  Flinty  corn  meal  will  not  rise 


INDIAN   CORN.  355 

well  on  account  of  the  oily  portion  preventing  adhesion, 
and  to  make  it  rise  there  must  be  added  rye,  wheat,  or  bar- 
ley flour. 

It  is  the  presence  of  this  large  proportion  of  oil  that 
makes  corn  so  useful  in  fattening  stock  and  poultry,  as  the 
oil  goes,  almost  without  a  change,  as  a  deposit  into  the  ani- 
mal tissues.  The  starch  also,  not  only  eontributes  to  the 
heat  by  its  slow  combustion,  but  is  largely  changed  into 
fat,  and  into  the  substance  of  the  living  frame.  Dextrine 
and  sugar  are  also,  by  a  slight  change  of  composition, 
passed  into  the  tissues  to  serve  the  purposes  of  heating  and 
building  up.  The  salts  of  iron  are  taken  up  by  the  blood 
and  it  tiien  undergoes  oxydation  in  its  passage  through  the 
lungs,  which  continues  through  the  arteries,  veins,  and  their 
capillaries,  thus  carrying  oxygen  to  every  part  of  the  body. 
The  phosphates  contribute  to  the  brain  and  nerve  tissue  and 
to  the  bones,  and  more  solid  portions  of  the  body.  Thus, 
every  part  of  corn  has  its  duties  to  perform  in  the  body, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  substances  that  contain  all  the  elements 
of  nutrition  in  itself. 

For  analyses  see  next  page. 


356 


CEREALS. 


ANALYSIS  NO.  1. 

Pennsylvania  Yellow  Corn  "  Gourd  Seed.' 


Moisture 

Oil 

Sugar 

Gum 

Zein 

Starch 

Albuminoids , 

Cellulose 

Ash., 


Uudried.  |  Dry. 


8.87 
5.17 
1.10 
L23 
1.98 
7066 
7.94 
1.72 
1.33 


5.67 
1.21 
1.35 
2.17 

177.54 
8.71 
1.89 

i   1.46 


ANALYSIS  NO.  2. 

White  Gourd  Seed  Corn  from  Maryland. 


Moisture 

Undried. 
8  03 

Dry. 

Oil         

5.61 

6.10 

Sugar 

2  45 

2  t>6 

Gum  

0.97 

1.06 

Zein 

1  45 

1  58 

Starch  

70.36 

76.50 

Albuminoids 

8  36 

9  09 

Callulose  

1  53 

1  66 

Ash 

1  24 

1  35 

It  has  always  been  a  matter  of  woniler  with  the  people 
North,  why  the  people  South  live  so  much  on  corn  bread. 
The  truth  is  the  bread-making  qualities  of  Southern  corn 
are  greatly  superior  to  that  grown  in  the  Northern  States. 
It  is  far  sweeter,  and  bread  made  of  it  has  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent taste  and  flavor.  In  one  pound  of  Northern  corn 
there  are  only  21  grains  of  sugar,  as  shown  by  the  sub- 
joined analysis — while  the  sample  analyzed  of  Southern 


INDIAN    CORN. 


357 


corn  shows  200  grains.  But  to  compensate  for  this  the 
Northern  corn  contains  more  fat  b;it  a  smaller  quantity  of 
albuminoids. 

AVERAGE  AMOUNT  OF  NUTRIMENT  IN  ONE  POUND   OF 
NORTHERN  CORN. 

Water 2  oz.  105  grs. 

Gluten— nitrate 1  "  402  " 

Starch) 9  "  262  " 

Sugar   Vcarbonates 0  "  21  u 

Fat      j  1  "  101  " 

Woody  fibre  waste 0  "  350  " 

Mineral  matter — phosphates 0  "  70  '' 

i 

AVERAGE    AMOUNT    OF    NUTRIMENT    IN    ONE    POUND     OF 
SOUTHERN    CORN. 

Water 3  oz.  0  grs. 

Gluten— nitrate 4  "  215     " 

Starch)  3  "  218     " 

Sugar   Vcarbonates 0  "  200     " 

Fat      j  0  "  20     " 

Woody  fibre— waste 1     "        21     « 

Gum— waste 0     "      200     " 

Mineral   matter — phosphates 0     "      250     " 

Another  comparative  analysis  of  Northern  and  Southern 
corn  with  wheat  gives  the  following  result: 


Northern  corn 
Southern  corn 
Wheat.. 


14:0 
39.5 
16.9 


78.9 
46.5 

77.2 


| 
& 


1.2 
4.7 
1.9 


5.9 
9.3 
4.0 


358 


CEREALS. 


It  will  be  seen  that  Southern  corn  abounds  in  food  for 
the  muscle  and  brain,  being  much  richer  in  the  nitrates 
than  wheat,  but  not  having  so  many  elements  productive  of 
heat. 

Considered  as  a  food,  corn  is  probably  the  cheapest  in  the 
world,  except  such  as  grows  spontaneously.  It  is  possible 
for  an  adult  to  subsist  on  a  bushel  of  meal  a  month  at  a 
cost  of  fifty  cents  or  even  less,  or  say  twelve  bushels  a  year, 
costing  six  dollars.  The  amount  of  corn  necessary  to  make 
this  amount  of  meal  can  be  grown  on  a  fourth  of  an  acre 
of  land,  or  to  put  it  in  another  way  an  average  acre  of  tilla- 
ble land  will  grow  corn  enough  to  subsist  four  persons  for 
twelve  months,  and  they  would  feed  as  luxuriously  as  the 
rice-eating  people  of  India.  The  capacity  of  the  corn- 
growing  belt  of  America  to  sustain  a  dense  population, 
viewed  in  this  light,  is  almost  unlimited. 

A  comparison  of  yellow  and  white  corn  shows: 


2 

e 

g 

E 

s 

1 

I 

rd 

<H 

IH 

ji 

"S 

—  [ 

ft 

5 

c 

Yellow  corn  contained 

9,66 

76.93 

13.41 

White  corn  contained               

9.89 

78.42 

11.69 

It  may  be  observed  that  these  specimens  are  both  "gourd 
seed."  the  yellow  color  being  from  the  epidermis,  so  there 
is  not  the  same  difference  as  exists  in  the  yellow  corns, 
whose  color  originates  from  the  oil. 

The  cobs  of  these  two  varieties  were  also  analyzed,  giving 
remarkable  results  as  to  their  nutritive  properties.  A  cob 
of  the  yellow  corn  weighing  560  grains  when  burned,  left 
7.6  grains  of  ashes  or  mineral  substances,  the  rest  being  or- 
ganic and  principally  convertible  into  living  tissues;  and  a 


INDIAN   COEN.  259 

cob  of  the  white  weighing  290  grains  when  burned  left  4 
grains.  Of  this  residue  there  are  just  such  minerals  as  are 
contained  in  the  animal  tissues.  Thus,  it  may  be  seen,  that 
the  cobs,  as  well  as  the  grains,  take  up  substances  from  the 
soil  according  to  the  capability  of  each  variety. 

Much  judgment  must  be  exercised  by  persons  selecting 
seed  corn.  Those  living  on  bottom  land,  rich  in  humus, 
will  select  any  of  the  large  kinds,  assured  of  a  crop  of 
good  corn,  while  those  living  on  high  elevations,  with  cool 
winds  and  short  summers,  will  select,  naturally,  those 
varieties  of  flints  that  mature  in  a  short  time,  and  are  ac- 
climatized to  the  cold.  Should  it  be  for  fattening  purposes 
the  oily  corns  or  "yellows"  are  taken.  But  at  last  the 
farmer  can  be  the  best  judge  of  what  has  done  well  on  his 
soil,  and  will,  therefore  be  governed  by  his  experience. 

CULTIVATION. 

There  is  scarcely  a  farmer  in  the  State  of  Tennessee  but 
has  some  favorite  method  of  cultivating  corn,  which  he 
learned  by  his  own,  or  the  experience  of  his  ancestors,  and 
because  he  has  always  succeeded  well  he  is  satisfied  to  con- 
tinue in  the  beaten  path.  But  as  the  country  thickens  in 
population,  land  becomes  more  valuable,  and  labor  cheaper, 
so  if  he  should  keep  pace  with  the  times,  it  should  be  his 
endeavor  to  produce  the  same  surplus  as  formerly,  with  less 
land.  This  can  be  done  by  studying  the  plant  food  required, 
and  supplying  it  in  sufficient  quantity.  Vegetation  is  very 
adaptive,  and  corn  planted  on  poor  land,  will  make  corn, 
though  the  ears  are  meagre  and  the  yield  sparse.  But  sup- 
ply a  sufficiency  of  food  to  that  corn  through  the  same 
medium  of  soil  and  its  gluttony  becomes  amazing,  and  in- 
stead of  the  diminutive  stalks  scattered  sparsely  on  the  land, 
behold  the  great  proud  plant,  spreading  its  large,  green 
leaves  to  the  breeze,  waving  its  tall,  yellow  plume  on  high, 
and  thrusting  out  its  huge  aldermanic  fruit  in  the  middle. 
The  outlay  of  manure,  quickly  returns  manifold  in  the 


360  CEREALS. 

shape  of  large,  remunerative  crops.  Thus,  it  should  be  the 
emulation  of  every  farmer  to  excel.  No  one  is  injured  by 
his  success,  but  he  is  the  recepient  of  all  the  bounty  result- 
ing from  his  labors. 

Any  soil  in  our  climate  will  produce  corn,  but 
not  all  in  paying  quantities  unless  specially  prepared.  The 
best  corn  land  is  the  rich,  black  limestone  upland,  or  the 
alluvial  bottoms.  If  the  land  is  wet  it  will  be  sour  and 
the  corn  will  "  french  "  and  no  result  accrue  to  the  farmer. 
If  possible  the  land  should  not  be  tilled  in  corn  more  than 
one  year  without  rotation,  as  this  is  necessary  to  keep  up  its 
fertility.  By  rotation,  the  ingredients  necessary  to  produce 
any  crop,  will  be  renewed  in  the  soil  by  the  decomposition 
of  its  elements.  This  matter  is  treated  of  more  fully 
under  the  chapter  on  manures. 

When  the  field  to  be  planted  is  determined  on  it  should, 
in  all  cases,  where  practicable,  be  broken  up  in  the  previous 
fall.  By  so  doing,  the  weeds  will  be,  to  a  great  extent,  de- 
stroyed, and  the  soil  will  be  so  mellow  and  ameliorated, 
that  it  will  work  kindly  all  the  nex£  year,  and  there  will 
be  little  trouble  in  cultivation.  Besides  the  broods  of  cut 
worms,  those  pestilent  insects  of  the  farmer,  being  exposed 
to  the  freezes  of  winter,  will  be  greatly  reduced,  so  that 
the  farmer  can  plant  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  weather 
will  admit,  whereas,  if  it  is  stubble  land,  or  especially  clover 
sod,  the  worms  will  often  so  effectually  thwart  the  labor  of 
the  farmer,  that  corn  need  not  be  planted  until  the  latter 
part  of  April.  Every  farmer  in  Tennessee  knows 
the  good  effects  of  the  frosts  of  winter  upon  freshly  broken 
earth. 

Should  it  unfortunately  be  out  of  the  power  of  the  planter 
to  break  in  the  fall,  the  nearer  he  can  come  to  it  the  better, 
as,  if  even  one  frost  touches  it,  good  effects  will  arise. 

The  soil  just  before  planting  should  receive  all  the  atten- 
tion requisite  to  put  it  in  a  thorough  state  of  tilth.  Work 
done  at  this  time  is  amply  repaid  in  the  subsequent  culti- 


INDIAN    CORN.  361 

vation.     Among  other  tilings  it  should  receive  harrowing 
or  rolling  sufficient  to  pulverize  every  clod  in  the  field. 

Much  difference  exists  as  to  the  time  of  planting,  some 
planting  early,  others  late.  It  will  generally  be  seen  that 
late  planting,  except  in  exceptional  cases,  makes  light  corn. 
It  is  true,  it  requires  less  work  by  probably  one  plowing, 
but  the  difference  is  more  than  compensated  in  lessened 
yield.  All  other  things  being  equal,  the  ground  will  be 
ready  to  plant  so  soon  as  nature  gives  the  word,  which  she 
unerringly  does,  by  throwing  out  the  flag  of  dogwood  blos- 
soms and  redbuds.  These  signs  have  been  acted  on  since 
the  Indians  taught  their  observance,  and  the  man  who  fol- 
lows this  signal  will,  as  a  rule,  succeed.  Some  plant  with 
the  blossoming  of  the  apple  tree,  but  that  is  getting  late, 
and  he  who  plants  late  will,  if  there  is  a  drought,  strike  it 
at  the  silking  time  of  his  corn. 

The  corn  well  planted,  is  half  the  battle  in  the  crop,  in- 
deed the  cr<  p  may  be  said  to  be  half  made.  Let  the  planter 
stir  the  surface  every  ten  days,  thinning  out  to  two,  and  in 
thin  lands  to  one  stalk  to  the  hill. 

It  was  once  thought  best  to  stir  deeply  with  every  plow- 
ing, but  experience  has  proved  that  the  deep  culture  should 
be  done  before  planting.  The  surface  roots  of  corn  are  the 
ones  that  sustain  it  and  make  the  thrifty  plant,  and  it  were 
better  they  should  not  be  disturbed  at  all.  But  this  is  in- 
evitable, on  account  of  the  germination  of  weed  and  grass 
seeds,  and  the  necessity  for  a  circulation  of  air  through  the 
soil.  Three  things  are  requisite  for  the  rapid  growth  of 
plants,  viz:  light,  air  and  moisture,  and  to  afford  a  con- 
stant supply  of  these  necessities  a  gentle  stirring  of  the  sur- 
face is  necessary.  But,  at  the  same  time,  the  fact  of  the  ex- 
istence of  rootlets  all  over  the  ground  will  deter  the  prudent 
farmer  from  going  too  deep.  By  keeping  the  crust  broken, 
air  can  pass  in,  giving  stimulus  to  the  disintegration  of  the 
nutrient  elements,  the  chemical  effect  of  light  passes  direct, 
ly  to  the  roots,  and  a  large  amount  of  moisture  is  absorbed 


362  CEREALS. 

from  the  atmosphere  by  the  loose  dirt,  it  acting  as  a  sponge. 
The  corn  should  be  planted  95  to  distance,  in  accordance 
with  the  capacity  of  the  soil.  On  good  ground  four  feet 
each  way,  with  two  stalks  to  the  hill,  will  be  a  good  distance, 
or  if  drilled,  let  the  drills  be  four  and  a  half  feet  apart,  and 
one  stalk  every  eighteen  inches  in  the  drill.  It  is  much 
easier  to  thin  out  corn  than  to  replant  it.  Put  plenty  of 
grains  in  each  hill,  four  or  five  will  not  be  too  many,  for 
should  a  heavy,  beating  rain  supervene  the  planting,  and 
the  soil  is  afterward  baked  by  a  hot  sun,  it  will  require  the 
cumulative  force  of  all  the  plumules  to  break  through  to 
the  surface.  With  a  perfect  stand  there  will  be  on  land 
checked  four  feet  each  way  and  two  stalks  left  in  a  hill, 
5,444  stalks.  Allowing  one  ear  to  each  stalk  and  100  ears 
to  the  bushel,  fifty-four  and  a  half  bushels  ought  to  be  the 
result.  Yet,  but  few  farmers  even  in  practise  realize  on 
their  whole  crop  this  amount.  Drilled  corn,  with  a  good 
stand,  will  not  grow  so  many  stalks;  but  there  being,  only 
one  stalk  at  a  place,  the  ears  will  be  larger,  and  the  stock 
will  more  frequently  bear  two  ears. 

The  method  of  planting,  is  undergoing  a  change  with  the 
acquisition  of  agricultural  implements.  Though  the  usual 
plan  is  to  plant  by  hand  and  cover  with  a  plough,  hoe,  or 
drag,  still  there  are  many  who  have  adopted  one  of  the 
many  corn-planters.  The  seed  is  distributed  far  more  regu- 
larly, and  uniformity  of  stands  is  secured.  There  are  many 
patented  machines,  each  good  in  the  field,  and  many  better 
than  none.  Besides,  the  labor  saved  is  great,  as  there  are 
no  rows  to  be  laid  off  and  no  covering  to  be  done  save  that 
effected  by  the  machine.  But  the  farm  should  be  level  to 
use  such  implements  profitably.  As  to  the  subsequent  cul- 
tivation the  method  of  level  culture  has,  of  late  years, 
proved  so  beneficial,  that  it  commends  itself  to  the  favora- 
ble consideration  of  every  farmer.  With  a  great  heap  on 
each  side  of  the  corn-rows  the  plant  is  deprived,  to  a  great 
extent,  of  two  of  the  necessities  of  healthy  growth,  light  and 
air.  With  level  culture,  this  is  obviated.  Besides,  with 


INDIAN   CORN.  363 

level  culture,  the  rootlets  are  not  torn  at  every  plowing, 
thus  arresting  for  several  days  the  growth  of  the  plant. 

Corn  should  be  plowed  every  ten  days  at  least,  and  no 
one  should  over-crop  himself  in  such  a  way  as  to  fail  to  be 
able  to  do  it.  Many  implements  are  used  for  plowing  corn, 
the  bull-tongue,  shovel,  mold-board,  double-shovel,  cultiva- 
tors of  various  patterns,  and  last,  but  not  by  any  means 
least,  the  walking  cultivator.  Any  one  who  has  seen  the 
operation  of  the  last-named,  will  not  hesitate  to  buy  one. 
The  corn  can  be  plowed  several  days  sooner  than  with  any 
other  implement,  simply  because,  with  a  careful  plowman, 
it  is  impossible  to  cover  it  up.  Then  it  sifts  just  soil  enough 
around  the  plant  to  smother  any  sprouting  weeds,  and  the 
amount  can  be  regulated  at  every  hill,  at  the  discretion  of 
the  plowman.  This  cultivator  can  be  used  until  the  corn 
is  three  feet  or  more  in  height,  and,  if  corn  is  in  good  con- 
dition at  that  height,  it  can  be  "laid  by."  One  man  and 
two  horses,  with  a  walking  cultivator,  will  do  the  work  of 
four  men  and  four  horses,  and  do  it  better.  It  is  a  difficult 
matter  for  one  man  to  attend  twenty  acres  of  corn  by  the 
old  plan;  with  a  walking  cultivator,  one  man,  after  the  corn 
comes  up,  will  easily  cultivate  forty  or  fifty  acres.  But 
this  does  not  refer  to  rocky,  grubby,  or  stumpy  land,  as  in 
such  lands  the  cultivator  will  be  worthless.  -Lands  of  that 
character  will  have  to  be  cultivated  as  best  they  may. 

Four  or  five  plowings,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  are 
all  that  are  necessary  to  produce  a  crop,  and  it  is  then 
turned  over  to  the  kindly  influences  of  the  heavens.  With- 
out seasons  man  can  do  nothing,  but  he  can,  by  deep  and 
thorough  tilth,  counteract  many  unfavorable  circumstances. 
If  the  land  is  deeply  broken  up  at  the  beginning,  it  will 
pass  the  moisture  from  the  surface  below  to  the  roots  of  the 
corn,  and  so  save  it  from  drowning  out.  By  the  same 
method,  much  water  will  be  retained  in  the  soil,  so,  in  ease 
of  drought,  it  will  rise  up  as  the  necessities  of  the  plant 
may  require. 


364 


CEREALS. 


To  recapitulate,  first,  break  up  well  and  deeply,  subsoil- 
ing  if  necessary,  then  pulverize  thoroughly,  and  plant  in 
rows  four  feet  apart,  or  in  drills  four  and  a  half  feet  apart, 
eighteen  inches  in  the  drill.  Before  it  comes  up,  say  in  five 
or  six  days,  run  over  it  all  with  a  heavy  harrow,  and  as 
soon  as  it  is  well  out  of  the  ground  begin  with  the  walking 
cultivator,  or  at  least  with  the  double-shovel,  and  run  over 
it  every  ten  days.  By  this  method  the  young  grass  and 
weeds  will  never  get  a  start,  and  will  never  be  required  to 
be  wrapped  up  with  dirt,  as  many  seem  to  think  is  indispen- 
sable. 

To  show  the  difference  between  shallow  breaking  and 
deep,  a  list  of  experiments  is  here  appended,  made  by  Prof. 
Daniells,  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Farm.  The  lots  were 
of  the  same  character  and  adjoining;  but  they  were 
clayey  with  a  clay  subsoil  and  rather  too  wet.  The  experi- 
ments were  continued  for  four  years,  but  the  last  year  the 
whole  land  was  well  drained,  which  at  once  changed  the 
result,  as  shallow  plowing  had  the  advantage,  until  drained. 
Besides,  the  shallow-plowed  was  the  highest  point,  and  the 
deeply-plowed  got  all  its  water  as  well  as  its  own,  and  so 
the  corn  was  drowned. 


METHOD    OF    CULTIVATION. 

1871 
Bushels. 

1872 
Bushels. 

•    1873 
Bushels. 

1874 
Bushels. 

Plowed  five  inches  deep  

55.4 

43.5 

53.4 

53.0 

Plowed  twelve  inches  deep  
Plowed  eighteen  inches  deep  .  .  . 
Plowed  and  subsoiled  18  inches. 

50.6 
44.9 
52.2 

50.3 

54.7 
56.8 

52.8 
51.3 
51.1 

58.1 
65.3 

60.8 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  experiments,  that  draining  the 
soil,  worked  a  wonderful  effect  in  the  production. 

The  Superintendent  of  the  Kansas  Farm  reports  an  ex- 
periment on  2.95  acres  on  the  prairie  which  had  been  en- 
closed in  pasture  for  a  few  years,  and  from  which  he  had 
cut  less  than  a  third  of  a  ton  of  hay  the  previous  year.  The 
field  was  divided  into  six  plats,  varying  in  size  from  one- 


INDIAN    CORN. 


365 


third  to  two-thirds  of  an  acre.  Plats  4,  5  and  6  received  a 
dressing  of  fresh  stable  manure,  applied  in  winter  and  spring, 
before  planting.  Plats  1  and  6  were  broken  up  in  the  usual 
way,  two  to  three  inches  deep.  Plats  2  and  5  were  trench- 
plowed  in  addition  to  this  breaking,  that  is  to  say,  a  com- 
mon turning  plow  followed  the  breaker  and  threw  about 
four  inches  of  soil  over  the  inverted  sod.  Plats  3  and  4  in 
addition  to  the  plowing  received  by  plats  2  and  5,  were  also 
subsoiled,  the  subsoiler  following  the  trenching  plow  and 
loosing  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  ten  to  fifteen  inches.  The 
land  was  harrowed  and  planted  immediately  with  yellow 
corn.  Cultivators  were  run  through  the  rows  during  the 
season  to  keep  the  surface  open.  The  season  was  an  unu- 
sually unfavorable  one.  Corn  stood  the  drought  well,  and 
was  cut  and  shocked  in  September  and  husked  in  October, 
both  grain  and  stalks  being  very  dry. 

The  following  table  gives  the  result  in  shelled  corn : 


PREPARATION  OF  SOIL. 

1 
1 

o 

Q 

m 

3 

o 

QO         o5 
PH  "^ 

Common  breaking  alone  

5.68 
6.94 
12.24 
16.48 
14.84 
9.11 

1..66 
2.73 
1.14 
.76 
.43 
.81 

7.54 
9.67 
13.38 
17.24 
15.28 
9.92 

1,000 
1,405 
1,658 
1,224 
1,816 
1,026 

Common  breaking  and  trenching 

Same  as  plat  2  and  subsoiled  

Same  as  3,  with  manure 

Same  as  2,  with  manure  

Same  as  1,  with  manure  

One  well  marked  difference  is,  the  soft  corn  is  reduced 
and  the  amount  of  stalks  increased  on  the  manured. 

Mr.  John  W.  Murray^  of  Carroll  county,  Maryland,  re- 
ports in  the  Agricultural  Report  of  U.  S.,  that  in  1873  he 
raised  thirty  and  a  half  barrels  (152}  bushels)  of  shelled 
corn  per  acre.  The  lot  was  below  the  road  and  the  barn- 
yard, and  received  the  washings  from  both,  and  had  been  in 
grass  for  fifteen  years.  In  1872,  he  broke  and  put  it  in  corn, 


366  CEREALS. 

and  got  26J  barrels  per  acre  that  year.  The  next  year  he 
broke  it  very  deeply,  harrowed  and  rolled  it.  He  scattered 
300  pounds  bone-dust  and  harrowed  it  in.  He  then  laid  it 
off  in  drills  thirty- two  inches  apart  and  scattered  200 
pounds  superphosphate  in  the  rows  and  planted  the  corn  on 
it,  one  and  two  grains,  ten  inches  apart.  The  corn  was 
"yellow."  This  was  on  May  17,  and  on  the  4th  of  June  he 
found  the  corn  did  not  come  up  well,  so  he  dragged  and 
replanted,  and  on  the  10th,  still  with  many  missing  hills, 
he  plowed  it. 

On  17th,  plowed,  hoed  and  plastered  weak  spots.  On 
30th,  dragged,  plowed  and  thinned.  On  4th  July,  hilled 
with  a  potatoe  plow,  and  occasionally  thinned  where  corn 
showed  weak  until  it  began  to  silk. 

These  experiments  are  copied  simply  to  show  what  can 
be  effected  by  scientific  attention  to  the  production,  and  we 
leave  it  to  the  intelligent  reader,  especially  that  class  who 
are  in  the  habit  of  renting,  if  it  is  not  better  to  rent  five 
acres  and  put  on  it  the  expense  usually  given  to  twenty,  if 
the  returns  will  be  the  same  or  more?  Land  at  $-5  per. acre 
would  give  a  sum  at  least  of  the  difference  rented, 
making  seventy-five  dollars ;  this  sum,  or  a  portion,  ex- 
pended on  manures  and  applied  would,  with  a  little  extra 
work,  make  the  five  acres  more  than  equal  to  the  twenty. 
And  then  the  proud  satisfaction  of  having  the  best  corn  in 
the  country  would  be  a  laudable  ambition  dear  to  any  man's 
heart. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  let  the  necessity  of  close, 
heavy  and  inexorable  thinning  be  impressed  on  every  one. 
No  one  can  be  a  judge  of  the  necessity  like  the  farmer. 
After  he  has  once  thinned  his  corn,  if  he  sees  any  of  the 
stalks  showing  signs  of  distress  go  into  it  again  and  again. 
If  not  thinned  there  will  be  a  certain  failure,  as  many  men 
will  find  to  their  cost  who  wanted  to  make  large  yields  and 
did  not  use  judgment  in  thinning  out. 

Corn  should  not  be  gathered   until  several  frosts  have 


INDIAN   COEN. 


367 


fallen  on  it  to  check  all  flow  of  moisture.  If  put  up  at  all 
damp  it  will  injure  by  heating  and  moulding.  Much  corn 
is  lost  every  year  by  garnering  too  early.  Many  cut  it  and 
leave  it  in  the  fields  to  dry,  and  of  course  it  will  dry 
sufficiently  here  if  left  long  enough.  By  pursuing  the 
latter  plan,  much  valuable  fodder  is  saved  for  stock ;  for 
after  it  is  shocked  it  is  husked  in  the  field,  leaving  the 
stalks,  shucks,  and  fodder  for  the  cattle.  This  fed  in  the 
rough,  or"  passed  through  a  cutter  will  amply  repay  the 
labor  of  saving  it. 

Taken  at  the  right  time  there  is  no  part  of  the  corn  but 
what  is  nutritious.  The  stalks  are  full  of  pith  that  are  rich 
in  sugar,  the  shucks  and  fodder,  while  not  being  quite  equal 
to  the  best  English  hay,  are  better  than  any  other  of  the 
rough  feeds,  and  the  quantity  from  an  acre  is  enormous. 
Below  is  an  analysis  of  the  stalk,  shucks  and  fodder,  in  short 
just  as  it  is  usually  cut  and  shocked,  and  to  show  its  rela- 
tive value,  I  have  added  the  analysis  of  pea  vines  and  the 
best  thoroughly  dried  English  hay  and  wheat  bran. 


Stalks, 

Average 

COMPOSITION. 

Fodder, 

of 

Wheat 

Pea 

Shucks. 

Hay. 

Bran. 

Vines. 

Flesh  forming  principles  

8.200 

10.34 

18  00 

16  38 

Heat  and  Pat  producing  matters  .... 

85.275 

43.80 

69.00 

33.86 

Woody  fibre     ...•„.    .    . 

50  251 

37  18 

25  84 

Mineral  matters  

8  68 

9  45 

Water  

6.276 

13.00 

14.47 

This  table  shows,  not  only  the  valuable  character  of  the 
substances  that  are  usually  wasted  and  burned  on  the  field, 
but  it  also  shows  that  pea  vines,  that  are  rarely  saved  by 
any  one,  are  for  fattening  purposes  superior  'to  the  best 
hay. 

Many  fail  to  cut  corn  on  account  of  the  trouble,  but  in 
no  other  way  can  as  much  feed  be  saved  in  the  same  length 


368  CEEEALS. 

of  time.  Nor  is  the  corn  in  the  least  injured  if  cut  when  the 
grain  is  soft.  There  is  always  enough  sap  in  the  stalk 
to  bring  the  corn  to  a  healthy  maturity.  The  stalks  and 
fodder  supply  the  best  provender  for  cattle  during  winter, 
and  they  can  be  kept  in  our  climate  on  this,  without  other 
food.  ^ 

It  is  a  bacl^  plan  for  a  farmer  to  lose  the  results  of  any 
part  of  his  labor,  and  by  close,  rigid  economy  alone  can  he 
succeed.  V  t 

Should  the  farmer  determine  to  cut,  the  time  is  just  as 
the  shuck  begins  to  dry,  and  yet  before  the  fodder  is  dead. 
By  taking  advantage  of  this  precise  time  he  will  save  every- 
thing, and  the  corn  will  extract  juice  enough  from  the 
stalk  to  fill  out  every  grain,  even  if  it  is  not  yet  full.  The 
usual  plan  is,  to  cut  so  as  to  leave  four  hills  in  every  tenth 
row  standing,  and  by  bending  these  together  at  the  top  and 
tying  them  into  an  arch,  the  shock  has  a  foundation  to  rest 
against.  Many  plans  are  adopted  in  tying  which  will 
suggest  themselves  to  the  practical  farmer.  The  stalks 
should  have  slope  enough  to  the  centre  to  prevent  the 
shocks  from  blowing  down.  When  the  work  of  the  year 
is  over,  the  corn  is  gathered,  leaving  the  shuck  on  or  not. 
The  stalks  can  then  be  shocked  again.  They  are  now  ready 
for  cattle,  that  may  be  fed  on  them  in  that  or  any  other 
place,  by  either  cutting  them  in  stalk  cutter  or  throwing 
them  in  racks,  made  temporarily  on  some  poor  spot  to 
catch  the  manure.  If  cut  up  and  fed  at  the  barn,  there  will 
be  such  a  manure  heap  as  will  gladden  the  heart  of  every 
good  farmer. 

It  is  often  difficult  to  decide  whether  a  sale  at  the  time  of 
gathering  is  better  than  later,  the  small  price  early  being, 
in  the  estimation  of  some,  counter-balanced  by  the  shrink- 
age. We  are  able  to  lay  before  the  reader  two  well 
authenticated  experiments  on  this  subject  that  may  be  a 
guide  to  any  one  debating  it.  One  was  made  by 
Prof.  Daniells,  of  Wisconsin ;  and  the  other  by  Mr.  Shel- 


INDIAN   CORN. 


369 


mire,  of  Pennsylvannia.  The  latter  measured  ten  bushels, 
and  it  weighed  401  pounds,  on  the  30th  of  October,  1870, 
giving  an  average  of  40.1  pounds.  The  same  corn,  Decem- 
ber 12th,  measured  ten  bushels  but  only  weighed  35.5  Ibs. 
to  the  bushel  showing  a  loss  of  weight,  by  shrinkage,  of 
11.5  per  cent.  The  corn  was  shelled  at  the  last  mentioned 
date  and  showed  the  weight  of  the  cobs  to  be  19.7  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  weight  of  the  corn.  Weight  of  one  measured 
bushel  of  grain,  51.3  Ibs,  after  fanning,  52  Ibs;  showing  a 
loss  by  fanning  of  1.24  per  cent,  in  weight. 

Another  test  was  made  by  the  same  gentleman  the  next 
year.  November  10,  1871,  ten  measured  bushels  of  ears 
weighed  399.5  Ibs.,  an  average  of  39.95  Ibs.  per  bushel. 
January  2,  1872,  the/ame  corn  measured  ten  bushels  but 
only  averaged  34.45  Ibs.  per  bushel.  Loss  of  weight  13.8 
per  cent.  On  shelling  the  grain  weighed  before  fanning, 
there  were  260.25  Ibs.,  showing  the  weight  of  the  cobs  to 
have  been  24.4  per  cent  of  the  entire  corn.  After  fanning 
there  was  a  loss  of  2.9  per  cent,  in  weight. 


PROF.    DANIELLS'   TEST. 


Weighed  Oct.  llth  one  hundred 

Early 

_- 

White 

pounds  each,  and  on  Dec.  30, 

Yellow 

Yellow 

Cherokee 

Austra- 

these varieties  weighed, 

Dent. 

Dent. 

White. 

lian. 

Weight  of  ears,   pounds  

97.75 

96.50 

93.25 

93.50 

Loss  of  weight  in  drying,  pr.  ct. 

2.25 

3.50 

6.75 

6.50 

Weight  of  shelled  corn,  pounds. 

83.50 

80  00 

74.50 

76.25 

Weight  of  cobs,  per  cent  

14.58 

17.09 

20.11 

18.45 

24 


370 


CEEEALS. 


By  this  experiment  the  whole  field  lost  in  one  acre  as 
follows : 


Loss  of 

weight  in 

Bushels 

No.  of 

pounds 

Pounds 

of 

Pounds 

of  an 

of  cobs 

Shelled 

in  a 

acre  of 

in  an 

corn  in 

Acre. 

corn. 

acre. 

an  acre. 

Yellow  Dent  

3702 

83 

527 

55-2 

Early  Yellow  Dent 

4396 

154 

726 

62.8 

Cherokee   

3958 

267 

741 

52.6 

White  Australian  

4745 

308 

818 

64.6 

Another  farmer  in  Pennsylvania,  by  accurate  weight  and 
measurement,  demonstrated  that  corn  in  one  year  would 
lose  in  shrinkage,  by  weight,  19  per  cent.;  by  measurement, 
17  per  cent.,  and  shelled  corn  would  lose  by  weight,  17  per 
centfc 

The  cost  of  raising  corn  is  so  arbitrary  it  would  be  un- 
profitable to  treat  of  it,  were  it  not  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing how  the  cost  of  one  acre  of  corn  can  be  very  great,  and 
yet  give  a  handsome  profit  to  the  planter.  This  we  will  do 
by  giving  actual  verified  results. 

A  New  Jersey  farmer  gives  the  cost  of  22  acres : 

Product  per  acre, 36.45  bushels. 

Value  of  corn  stalks  per  acre, $4  55 

Sold  corn  at  70  cents  per  bushel, 25  51 

Total  value  per  acre  of  crop, $30  06 

The  expense  account  is  for  plowing,  furrowing,  dropping 
and  covering,  cultivating,  hoeing,  cutting,  husking,  and 
drawing  corn  to  crib,  drawing  and  stacking,  shelling,  win- 
nowing, bagging  corn  and  taking  to  market,  wear  of  imple- 
ments, and  on  land,  all  giving  an  expense  of  39.65  cents  per 
bushel,  or  $14  42  per  acre,  leaving  a  clear  profit  of  $15  54 


INDIAN    CORN.  371 

per  acre,  besides  receiving  nearly  all  the  expenses  himself, 
he  having  clone  the  work. 

From  a  large  number  of  estimates,  the  average  cost  of 
production  without  manure  is  $5  50  per  acre.  Of  course 
this  estimate  is  for  ordinary  culture  without  manures.  We 
have  added — to  show  what  can  be  spent  in  manures  with 
profit — a  list  of  profits  and  expenses.  They  are  compiled 
from  various  agricultural  essays  and  purport  to  be  trust- 
worthy. It  will  be  seen  by  these  reports  that  the  man  who 
uses  manure  unsparingly,  receives  ample  returns. 

J.  J.  Flint,  3}  acres,  600  bushels,  value  $450;  fodder  and 
and  stalks  $124.  Total,  $574.  Expenses,  $329  50,  in- 
cluding $192  for  manure.  Net  profit,  $244  50,  or  $65  20 
per  acre. 

Joseph  Goodrich,  one  acre,  lllj  bushels  corn  and  two 
tons  roughness.  Cost  of  production,  $70  75,  including 
$39-25  for  manure.  Stable  manure,  compost,  plaster  and 
superphosphate  applied. 

James  Carter,  one  acre,  11 1J  bushels  corn  and  three  tons 
roughness.  Cost,  $49  50  including  $27  00  for  manure,  18 
loads  compost,  and  a  small  handful  of  superphosphate  in 
each  hill. 

William  Morris,  one  acre,  90  5-7  bushels,  corn  expense 
$93  58,  of  which  $58  50  is  for  manure.  Plowed  half  of 
the  land  in  November,  and  the  other  half  in  April.  Re- 
sults from  both  pieces  just  the  same.  These  results  from 
the  efiects  of  manure  on  corn  might  be  multiplied  indefi- 
nately,  but  enough  are  given  to  establish  the  good  effect  of 
manures.  Still  a  farmer  should  not  go  manure-mad  and 
spend  the  product  of  the  whole  place  in  manure.  Rather 
let  him  try  to  recuperate  his  land  by  proper  rotation  and 
frequent  seeding  down  to  clover.  This  is,  at  last,  the  cheap- 
est, most  convenient,  and  most  universal  manure  in  the 
reach  of  farmers.  Any  man  who  will  establish  a  system  of 
regularity  in  making  a  manure  heap,  will  be  astonished  at 
the  result  of  a  few  minutes  regular  labor  each  day  in  build- 


372  CEREALS. 

ing  a  large  compost  heap.  Only  have  a  barrow  at  the  barn 
and  let  it  be  the  business  of  one  hand,  while  the  others  are 
feeding  and  currying,  to  gather  with  his  shovel  all  the 
droppings  of  the  stock,  both  in  the  stables  and  barn  yard, 
and  roll  it  to  a  central  point  and  place  it  in  a  covered  pen 
provided  for  the  purpose.  In  the  fall  he  can  add  forest 
leaves,  weeds  from  the  fence  corners,  and  occasionally  throw 
over  the  whole  a  layer  of  earth,  and  by  spring  he  will  have 
a  compost  heap  that  will,  as  far  as  it  can  be  put  on  his  land, 
double  his-  crop.  And  he  cannot  do  better  in  the  spring 
than  to  start  early  enough  to  draw  every  corn  stalk,  left 
standing,  into  the  barn  yard  to  make  manure  for  the  next 
year.  It  is  only  by  close  attention  to  these  details  of  farm- 
ing that  a  man  can  derive  any  benefit  or  pleasure  from 
country  life,  for  surely,  without  profit  there  will  be  little 
enjoyment. 

The  depth  of  soil  over  a  grain  of  corn  should  not  be 
more  than  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches.  If  planted  ve.ry 
early  still  less.  Corn  planted  six  inches  deep  will  rarely 
come  up,  at  five  inches  it  will  come  very  sparingly.  At 
one  inch  corn  will  come  up  in  seven  or  eight  days  with  suit- 
able weather,  at  one  and  a  half  inches  in  nine  days,  and  at 
two  to  four  inches  it  will  require  twelve  or  eighteen  days, 
in  early  spring. 

A  great  stimulus  was  given  to  the  cultivation  of  corn 
by  the  failure  of  1874,  the  average  that  year  per  acre  being 
only  20.7  all  over  the  United  States.  The  cultivation  of 
cotton  the  next  year  dropped  down  amazingly,  and  corn 
arose.  The  average  per  acre  the  next  year  was  29.4  bush- 
els, but  then  the  price  went  from .  64.7  cents  per  bushel,  in 
1874  to  42  cts.  in  1875.  So  that  the  increase  in  breadth 
being  about  ten  per  cent,  brought  no  corresponding  increase 
in  value  of  the  entire  crop.  Tennesse,  from  having  former- 
ly been  a  large  cotton  producer,  has  become  a  grain  State. 
The  proportion  of  corn  to  all  the  crops  in  the  State  is  45 
per  cent.,  cotton  15  per  cent,  and  other  crops  40  per  cent. 


INDIAN    CORN.  373 

Iii  1876  ther«  were  181,842  bales  of  cotton  raised  iii  Ten- 
nessee, and  four  counties,  Shelby,  Fayette,  Hay  wood  and 
Tipton,  raised  73,127  of  these,  or  four-tenths  of  the  whole 
amount. 

It  may  naturally  be  expected  that  corn  will,  if  long  con- 
tinued cultivation  takes  place,  exhaust  the  land  on  which  it 
is  raised.  But  it  reduces  the  fertility  of  the  soil  far  less 
than  may  be  supposed.  Many  fields  are  in  cultivation  in 
Tennessee  that  have  been  put  to  corn  continuously  for  three 
quarters  of  a  century,  and  yet  make  handsome  yields. 
Corn  is  the  largest  production,  not  only  of  Tennessee,  but 
of  the  United  States,  of  any  one  crop.  But,  unlike  wheat, 
much  of  it  is  returned  to  the  soil.  In  fact,  according  to  the 
prevailing  method  of  culture,  the  land  is  not  put  to  its  full 
capacity,  and  much  of  its  growing  power  is,  therefore,  in  re- 
serve. Besides,  the  corn  is,  as  a  general  thing,  fed  to  stock 
on  the  place,  and  therefore  is,  in  some  measure,  returned  to 
the  soil.  Wheat,  on  the  contrary,  is  almost  wholly  taken 
from  the  land,  and  as  a  result  the  cultivation  of  this  cereal 
is  continually  tending  westward  in  search  of  new  fields. 
Should  the  plan  laid  down  in  this  work  be  followed,  that  is, 
should  the  stalks  be  cut  and  fed  on  the  farm,  and  the 
corn  used  to  fatten  the  stock  of  the  place  there  would  be  no 
loss  whatever,  except  the  actual  weight  of  the  stock  sold, 
which  would  be  a  small  drain  on  a  fertile  field.  The  sta- 
tistics of  the  cereal  growths  of  the  United  States  benr  out 
the  assertion  of  the  improved  value  of  land  put  to  corn  over 
that  put  to  any  other  product  that  is  taken  entirely  off  the 
land.  And  this  increased  value  is  seen  in  the  improvements 
made  on  the  farms  of  the  corn  growing  counties.  It  is  said,  if 
a  man  has  a  crib  full  of  corn  he  has  all  that  makes  the  farmer 
independent.  He  has  bread,  meat  and  many  other  luxuries 
his  taste  may  require,  and  so  well  established  is  this  fact  it 
has  given  rise  to  the  axiom  "he.  is  as  independent  as  if  he 
had  corn  to  sell." 


374  CEREALS. 


IMPLEMENTS    FOB   CORN    RAISING. 

The  principal  implements  for  cultivating  have  been  inci- 
dentally mentioned,  and  it  will  only  require  a  recapitulation 
of  them,  together  with  the  mention  of  some  economic 
machines  for  the  preparation  of  the  grain  for  market  or 
consumption. 

The  planter  about  to  engage  in  corn  culture,  will  require 
good  plows,  and  it  will  be  a  great  economy  in  him  to  pro- 
vide himself  with  the  best  the  market  affords.  There  are 
many  good  plows  put  on  the  market,  each  possessing  intrin- 
sic value,  and  all  far  in  advance  of  the  plows  of  twenty- 
five  years  ago.  A  good  steel  mould-board,  three-horse,  or 
large  two-horse  plow,  capable  of  throwing  up  the  soil  to  a 
depth  of  10  or  12  inches,  is  indispensable,  and  this  should 
be  accompanied  with  a  subsoiler.  Harrows,  rollers,  and 
cultivators  come,  as  a  matter  of  course,  for  without  them 
the  soil  could  not  be  put  in  a  good  state  of  tilth.  This 
process  is  greatly  aided  by  a  drag,  cheaply  made,  by  attach- 
ing three  poles  eight  feet  long  by  two  chains,  about  three 
feet  apart.  This  drag,  on  rough  or  stalky  land,  will  pass 
over  inequalities  of  the  soil,  and  pulverise  the  surface  better 
than  a  brush  or  harrow.  A  corn-planter,  if  the  ground  is 
level,  should  be  in  every  man's  possession  who  intends  plant- 
ing largely.  Some  of  them  make  the  rows,  drop  the  corn, 
and  is  so  regulated  that  by  pressure  of  the  foot  the  amount 
of  seed,  and  the  depth  of  planting  is  under  the  control  of 
the  driver.  The  best  of  them  will  plant  either  in  drills  or 
checks.  A  good  seat  is  provided  for  the  driver,  and  with 
two  good  horses  he  can  plant  ten  or  twelve  acres  in  a  day. 

A  walking  cultivator  is  now  being  used,  far  in  advance  in 
efficency  to  the  sulky  cultivator.  It  has  four  hoes,  all  un- 
der control  of  the  driver,  and  adjustible  by  the  will  of  the 
laborer.  With  it  four  furrows  are  plowed  at  once,  and  a 
man  can  plow  as  many  acres  in  a  day  as  he  can  lay  off 
rows  for  in  ordinary  planting.  This  implement  can  also 


INDIAN    CORN.  375 

be  used  to  advantage  in  plowing  in  oats,  wheat   and   other 
small  grains,  as  it  can  be  set  to  go  in  any  depth  desired. 

A  husker  has  been  invented,  but  from  all  reports  at  our 
command,  it  does  not  fulfil  its  promise.  A  husker  in  con- 
nection with  a  sheller  has  been  used  to  some  extent,  but  one 
great  disadvantage  is  that  it  does  not  separate  the  sound 
and  rotten  corn,  though  it  is  represented  to  do  so  by  means 
of  a  fan  attached.  A  good  corn-sheller  and  a  strong  straw- 
cutter  will  about  complete  the  equipments  of  the  planter. 
It  is  surprising  how  small  the  quantity  of  stalks  that  is  re- 
jected by  stock  when  run  through  the  straw-cutter.  So 
much  sugar  is  retained  in  the  pith  that  only  those  portions 
near  the  butt  are  left  uneaten.  When  the  stalks  are  cut 
up  the  shucks  and  fodder  are  all  devoured  greedily.  No 
man  who  has  attended  horses  or  mules  to  any  extent  but 
has  observed  the  amount  of  cobs  eaten  by  them.  It  is  ne- 
cessary for  the  stomach  to  be  distended  to  favor  digestion, 
and  when  stalks  are  freely  supplied  they  serve  this  purpose, 
besides  contributing  no  mean  supply  of  nutrition. 

A  stalk-cutter  has  been  used  to  a  limited  extent,  to  be 
driven  through  the  standing  stalks,  and  cut  them  in  short 
pieces  for  the  benefit  of  future  plowing.  I  saw  one  of  these 
in  operation  in  Lake  county  among  the  rank  stalks  doing 
effective  service.  Should  the  planter  wish  to  cook  the  food 
for  his  animals  he  will  require  a  furnace,  with  kettles,  or  a 
sheet  iron  box  to  boil  it  in,  also  a  mill  to  grind  it  into  meal. 
Below  we  give  a  series  of  experiments  to  determine  the  re- 
lative value  of  raw  and  cooked  food,  and  if  the  farmer  after 
examining  this  subject,  shall  determine  to  adopt  the  latter 
method,  then  he  can  select  the  best  means  of  accomplishing 
that  object.  Among  the  implements  above  named,  the 
double  shovel  deserves  especial  mention.  To  those  not  able 
to  supply  themselves  with  the  walking  cultivator,  it  is  in- 
valuable, and  lessons  the  work  of  the  farmer  at  least  one- 
half.  Mr.  Thos.  H.  Bond,  of  Williamson  county,  planted 
a  large  crop  of  corn  in  1877,  and  no  other  plow  ever  enter- 


376  CEREALS. 

ed  the  fields,  and  he  made  an  average  of  60  bushels  per  acre, 
over  his  whole  farm.  But  a  man  must  not  expect  to  culti- 
vate with  this,  or  the  cultivator,  in  the  usual  slovenly  man- 
ner of  some  farmers,  that  is,  wait  until  driven  into  the  field 
by  the  growth  of  weeds.  To  get  the  full  benefit  of  them, 
he  must  keep  ahead  of  the  weeds  and  grass.  So  soon  as  he 
sees  the  ground  broning  with  the  minute  points  of  vege- 
tation, then  is  the  time.  If  he  lets  them  alone  until  they 
are  one  or  two  inches  high,  nothing  then  will  do  but  to 
"wrap  them  up"  with  a  turning  plow.  It  must  not  be  said 
these  plows  will  not  do  on  hillsides.  They  may  be  more 
troublesome  to  hold  there,  but  so  is  a  bull  tongue  or  a  turn- 
ing plow,  but  still  they  are  used,  and  so  can  the  others  be 
made  available  there.  In  fact  they  may  be  used  any  where 
except  on  very  rocky,  grubby,  or  stumpy  fields. 

USES. 

It  has  been  said  of  the  palm  that  it  is  the  universal  plant 
of  the  tropics,  furnishing  every  thing  required  for  the  com- 
fort of  the  outer  and  inner  man.  While  we  do  not  make 
clothes  of  maize,  I  believe  we  use  it  for  almost  every  other 
purpose.  In  its  young  and  tender  age,  it  makes  one  of  the 
best  forage  crops  for  our  horses  and  cattle,  and  so  soon  as 
the  grain  gets  into  the  milky  state  it  furnishes  our  tables 
with  the  greatest  vegetable  luxury  of  any  country.  In  all 
its  after  existence  it  serves  man  and  animals  as  food.  Good 
sugar  has  been  made  of  its  tender  pith,  and  the  stalks  make 
excellent  shingling  for  out  houses,  or  for  houses  if  so 
desired.  The  grain  is  used  in  making  starch.  The  plant 
gives  to  many  all  the  hay  they  ever  use.  There  are  made 
from  some  portion  horse  collars,  foot  mats,  hats,  bonnets, 
slippers,  pipes,  potash,  stable  bedding.  And  the  shucks  go 
into  the  paper  mills  and  furnish  the  paper  or  a  portion  of  it 
on  which  the  news  of  the  world  is  sent  to  the  breakfast  table; 
it  has  lessened  the  agony  of  ducks  and  geese,  in  taking  the 
place  of  their  feathers  in  making  our  beds;  in  neighbor- 


INDIAN   COEN.  377 

hoods  remote  from  railroads  it  furnishes  a  cheap  and  ex- 
cellent article  of  fuel ;  oil  is  distilled  from  it  to  light  up  the 
houses;  whiskey  to  sicken  the  well  and  to  cure  the  sick;  alco- 
hol, without  which  the  druggist  would  be  disarmed,  comes 
from  this  precious  grain.  Beer,  malt,  and  various  other  cool- 
ing and  medicinal  preparations,  take  the  place  of  milk,  and  the 
foreign  adulterated  poisons  under  the  names  of  wine  and 
ales.  Even  the  cobs  are  of  important  use  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  vinegar  and  in  the  making  of  pipes.  The  tassels 
give  a  fine  addition  to  the  vases  that  adorn  our  rooms. 

It  is  cooked  in  more  ways  than  any  other  food.  It  is  parched 
and  in  this  way  is  extensively  used  by  travelers  in  India 
and  other  Eastern  countries.  It  is  cooked,  when  green,  on 
the  cob  by  boiling,  or  baking,  or  roasting,  or  is  cut  of  and 
fried  or  made  into  the  most  delicious  puddings.  Cracked 
and  deprived  of  its  siliceous  coating  when  dry,  it  makes  the 
hominy  of  commerce.  Deprived  of  its  coating  by  lye, 
and  left  in  whole  grain,  it  makes  lye  hominy.  Crushed 
into  angular  particles,  resembling  in  size  and  shape  gun- 
powder, it  becomes  grits.  Ground  up  finer  it  makes  the 
meal  that  is  used  by  the  people  of  half  the  continent  of 
North  America,  making  the  corn  cakes,  better  cakes,  hoe 
cake,  johnny  cake,  ash  cake  and  mush  of  the  Southern 
States ;  the  tortilla  of  the  Mexican,  the  stirabout  of  Ireland 
and  the  Polenta  of  the  Italians. 

The  Kaffirs  have  recently  substituted  maize  in  the  place 
of  millet  as  food,  and  its  consumption  in  Great  Britian  and 
on  the  continent  is  increasing  every  year.  The  large  pro- 
portion of  carbonaceous  substances  which  it  contain  makes  it 
more  stimulating  than  wheat.  As  a  food  it  is  not  so  pala- 
table as  wheat,  but  its  possibilities  are  far  in  excess,  and  for 
cheapness  there  is  much  in  favor  of  maize. 

We  all  remember  when,  in  1846,  the  famine  devastated 
Ireland  by  the  potatoe  rot,  maize  rushed  to  the  rescue  and 
saved  millions  of  people  from  starvation.  Even  now,  some 
philanthropists  are  trying  to  introduce  it  into  general  use 


378  CEEEALS. 

in  Europe,  to  prevent,  as  it  will,  those  periodical  famines 
that,  with  their  awful  lieutenant  pestilence,  stalk  so  regularly 
over  the  older  continents.  Where  maize  grows  there  can 
never  be  a  famine,  as  it  supplies  within  itself  all  that  is 
requisite  to  make  rran  or  animal.  By  its  use  we  are  able  to 
sell  meats  at  five  or  six  cents,  that  a  poor  man  in  Europe 
never  sees,  and  can  only  be  bought  at  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
cents  per  pound. 

Hog  and  hominy  was  the  entire  dish  of  the  pioneer,  the 
source  of  hospitality  of  the  backwoodsman.  It  gave  life  to 
the  wilds  of  America.  Its  delicious  morsels  are  yet  the  pride 
of  the  palate. 

Nor  does  corn  keep  its  sweetness  to  itself,  but  through  the 
aid  of  bees  it  stores  for  man's  use  tons  of  honey.  And 
when  stung  by  the  aphides  its  very  tears  are  honey  dew, 
thus,  in  its  destruction;  holding  out  a  dying  gift  to  man. 

Without  corn,  the  discovery  of  Columbus  would  have 
been  long  in  benefitting  mankind.  The  settlers  could 
scarcely  live  with  the  meagre  assistance  afforded  from 
Europe,  and  many  of  them  starved  as  it  was.  Tennessee 
certainly  could,not  so  soon  have  had  the  population  it  did, 
for  our  forefathers,  profiting  by  the  example  set  by  the 
Indians,  would  parch  a  bag  of  corn,  and  with  this  bar  to 
hunger  fearlessly  cross  the  mountains  into  an  uninhabited 
region,  where  they  could  not  by  any  means,  except  by  the 
slaughter  of  wild  animals,  have  subsisted  otherwise. 

A  war  party  of  Indians  will  not  hesitate  to  undertake  a 
long  and  dangerous  journey  into  an  enemy's  country,  and 
endure  hardships  unknown  to  us,  "swimming  rivers,  climbing 
mountains,  making  journeys  of  wondrous  distances,  and 
yet  their  whole  subsistance  is  a  small  bag  of  parched  corn, 
erushed  between  two  stones. 

Corn  is  undoubtedly  fed  too  lavishly  to  horses.  It  is 
very  rich  in  carbonaceous  substances,  its  heat  producing 
compounds  being  about  70  per  cent,  of  its  composition,  and 
consequently  creating  great  heat  in  the  animal. 


INDIAN   COKN.  379 

The  subject  of  cooked  or  uncooked  food  has  engaged  the 
attention  of  agriculturists  time  out  of  mind,  and  it  is  yet 
an  unsettled  question.  Those  who  have  tried  cooked  food 
invariably  testify  to  its  worth,  yet  the  trouble  of  carrying 
it  out  deters,  and  will  deter,  the  many  from  its  attempt. 
Its  advantages  are  so  marked  that  it  is  to  be  hoped  it  will 
become  the  general  practice  of  the  country. 

S.  H.  Clay,  of  Bourbon  City,  Kentucky,  fed  hogs  with 
corn  in  the  ear,  boiled  corn  and  boiled  meal.  After  fully 
testing  it  he  calculated  that, 

Ibs.  oz. 

One  bushel  corn  in  the  ear  made  of  pork 5  10 

"         boiled  corn  "  "     14     7 

"         boiled  meal  "  " 16     7 

"     another  case  of  meal  "  "     18     0 

Prof.  Mapes,  of  New  Jersey,  after  numerous  experiments, 
decided  that  thirteen  pounds  of  cooked  meal  was  equivalent 
to  thirty  pounds  corn  raw. 

But  then  the  question  comes  up  as  to  whether  the  fuel 
and  other  expense  attending  the  cooking  will  not  over- 
balance the  surplus  pork.  That  is  a  question  to  be  decided 
only  by  investigation. 

In  1854,  the  corn  crop  of  Middle  Tennessee  was  almost 
a  total  failure.  A  gentleman  in  Davidson  County,  on  the 
1st  of  September  cut  off  a  piece  of  corn  and  planted  turnips. 
The  yield  was  enormous,  and  he  put  up  a  furnace  and 
boiled  a  large  amount  of  turnips  daily,  stirring  in  about  a 
quart  of  meal  for  each  hog.  He  fattened  and  killed  thirty- 
five  hogs  as  fine  as  he  ever  had  when  corn  was  plentiful, 
and  that  with  only  about  two  bushels  of  meal  to  the  ,og. 

In  feeding  one  hundred  hogs,  the  superintendent  of  the 
Iowa  State  farm  reports  that  he  has  saved  two-fifths  of  the 
grain  by  grinding  it  into  meal,  and  feeding  it  dry,  and 
finds  still  better  results  by  souring  it  before  feeding,  and  by 
steaming  it,  saved  at  least  one  half  or  over. 


380  CEREALS. 

Examples,  well  authenticated,  of  this  kind  might  be 
multiplied  indefinitely.  But  enough  has  been  said  to  show 
that,  all  other  things  being  equal,  the  ground  corn,  or  if 
possible  cooked,  will  go  much  further  than  in  its  natural 
state.  For  this  reason  still  slops,  though  deprived  of  much 
of  their  nourishing  qualities,  will  fatten  hogs  or  cattle 
faster  than  if  fed  on  corn  with  all  its  ingredients  intact. 

Sir  Humphry  Davy,  after  numerous  experiments,  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  wheat  contained  95  per  cent,  of 
nutritive  matter,  and  corn  77  per  cent.  Therefore  if  a 
bushel  of  corn  is  worth  77  cents,  a  bushel  of  wheat  is 
worth  95  cents,  so  far  as  nutrition  is  concerned.  But  when 
it  is  remembered  that  the  23  per  cent,  of  innutritions  mat- 
ter, which  constitutes  a  portion  of  the  maize,  is  desirable 
in  man  for  food  as  "necessary  not  only  to  satisfy  the  craving 
of  hunger,  but  to  promote  digestion  by  the  stimulus  of  dis- 
tention,  which  bulk  alone  can  give,"  it  will  be  understood 
that  the  comparative  value  of  corn  is  even  greater  than 
would  appear  from  these  analyses. 

But  the  prices  of  these  two  grains  have  never  been  con- 
trolled by  their  proportions  of  nutrition.  Corn  in  1877 
could  be  bought  in  abundance  at  40  to  45  cents  per 
bushel,  while  wheat  brought  $1.10  to  $1.40,  thus  showing 
that  however  cheap,  and  however  nutritious,  the  taste  of  the 
people  impels  them  largely  in  favor  of  flour. 

Before  closing  this  part  of  the  subject  it  will  not  be  irrele- 
vant to  say  a  few  words  on  the  subject  of  preparation  of 
corn  for  human  food.  In  the  first  place,  corn  should  never 
be  ground  too  fine.  It  will  never  make  as  good  bread 
when  the  cells  are  all  broken,  as  it  then  has  nothing  to  re- 
tain the  gas  or  steam  induced  by  heat,  and  so  it  is  heavy. 
When  intended  to  be  made  into  plain  bread,  put  nothing  in 
it  but  cold  water,  and  make  it  up  with  a  large  amount,  and 
then  put  it  in  an  extremely  hot  oven  and  let  it  remain  only 
long  enough  to  brown  on  the  surface.  This  will  make  bread 
to  suit  the  most  fastidious  taste.  Every  housewife  has  ways 


INDIAN   COEN.  381 

of  her  own  for  making  breads,  and  properly  made,  they 
are  all  good,  but  good,  plain  bread  can  never  be  made  out 
of  dry  dough  or  with  a  slow  heat. 

It  is  barely  necessary  to  allude  to  the  efficiency  of  meal 
as  a  butter-maker.  Fed  to  cows,  one-half  gallon  twice  daily, 
dry,  it  will,  with  hay,  bring  down  the  milk  in  showers,  and 
the  butter  will  be  yellow  and  rich.  Many  dairymen  in  the 
North  have  fed  it  alone  for  weeks  without  detriment  to  the 
milk  or  condition  of  the  cow,  but  she  should  never  have 
more  tnan  two  quarts  at  a  feed,  and  it  should  always  be  dry,  as 
if  wet  it  will  pass  at  once  into  the  second  stomach  and  not 
be  properly  assimilated.  Judge  Owen,  of  New  York,  a 
large  dairyman,  testifies  to  the  value  of  this  as  a  dairy  food 
in  extravagant  terms  in  the  Agricultural  Report  of  1868. 

AS   A   HAY   AND   FORAGE   CROP. 

It  would  appear  that  corn,  as  a  hay  and  forage  crop,  be- 
longs more  especially  to  a  work  devoted  to  the  grasses,  and 
in  this  respect  the  people  of  Tennessee  do  not  appreciate  its 
importance.  The  dairymen  of  the  IJorth  have  for  years 
been  using  it  as  a  green  food  for  their  cows  in  that  pecu- 
liarly dry  time  of  July  and  August,  after  the  first  pastures 
have  dried  out,  and  before  the  fall  pastures  have  become 
green  from  the  latter  rains. 

We  have  seen  already  the  vast  amount  of  forage  in  the 
form  of  fodder,  tops  and  stalks,  that  can  be  saved  from  one 
acre  of  corn.  No  one  can  imagine  the  amount  of  waste  in 
this  respect  every  year  in  our  State.  Mr.  Mechi,  the  most 
eminent  farmer  in  England,  or  the  world,  estimates  every 
ton  of  corn  fodder,  which  includes  stalks,  husks  and  leaves 
to  be  worth  ten  dollars  per  ton.  He  also  estimates  one  ton 
of  fodder  to  every  forty  bushels  of  grain.  The  total  crop 
of  Tennessee  in  1876,  our  last  published  report,  was  54,500,- 
000  bushels,  which  would  make  1,365,500  tons  of  good 
fodder,  this,  at  one-half  of  Mr.  Mechi's  estimated  value 
would  be  16,812,500!  How  much  of  this  is  lost  by  sheer 


382  CEREALS. 

waste,  we  leave  to  every  farmer  in   the  State  to  tell,  com- 
paring the  amount,  he  himself  has  lost. 

There  is  a  numerous  class  of  small  farmers  and  tenants 
in  the  State,  comprising  a  majority  of  the  citizen,  who  do 
not  have  the  land  on  which  to  raise  hay.  From  the  pecu- 
liar circumstances  of  their  annual  lease  they  cannot  sow 
clover  or  set  a  meadow,  and  yet  these  men  have  their  horses, 
cows,  and  possibly  sheep  that  must  be  fed  as  regularly  as 
the  animals  of  the  landlord. 

Nothing  is  easier  than  for  these  men,  instead  of  belling 
their  stock  and  letting  them  browse  on  a  precarious  range, 
to  provide  an  abundance  of  the  very  best  hay  for  them 
This  is  done  by  sowing  one,  two  or  more  acres  in  corn,  ac- 
cording to  their  necessities.  Should  they  desire  to  do  so, 
they  can  raise  two  crops  in  the  year,  provided  they  will 
sow  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground.  It  only  re- 
quires about  ninety  days  for  corn  fodder  to  mature,  and  it 
can  be  cut  some  sooner.  There  are  several  ways  of  seeding 
down,  and  either  one  must  be  adapted  to  the  ground  to  be 
sown.  After  the. ground  is  prepared  by  breaking,  harrow- 
ing and  rolling,  the  seed  may,  on  very  rich  ground,  be  sown 
broad-cast,  one  bushel  of  seed  to  the  acre.  Another  plan 
is  to  lay  off  the  ground  one  way  and  drill  in  the  rows,  they 
being  not  more  than  eighteen  inches  or  two  feet  apart.  It 
should  be  plowed  about  twice,  and  then  cut,  when  the 
grain  that  will  form  on  some  of  the  stalks  gets  in  the  roast- 
ing ear  state.  Another  plan,  if  the  farmer  owns  a  corn 
drill,  is  to  drill  the  corn  on  freshly  prepared  land  about  six 
inches  apart.  It  will  soon  come  up,  and  prevent,  by  its 
shade,  the  growth  of  weeds  or  grass.  Cut  when  in  the 
tassel. 

A  crop  of  40  or  50  tons  of  green  forage  is  not  uncommon 
on  an  acre  of  land,  and  one  farmer  writes  that  he,  by  a  fail- 
calculation,  in  a  drilled  piece  got  72  tons.  Of  cdurse  from 
its  exceedingly  succulent  character,  both  of  leaves  and 
stems,  it  loses  greatly,  but  on  fair  ground  not  less  than 


INDIAN    CORN.  383 

three  or  four  tons  of  dry  forage  is  easily  obtained.  Land 
sown  in  corn  will  not  only  furnish  a  large  amount  of  hay, 
but  the  fodder,  if  cut  and  fed  to  stock  as  required,  will  keep 
three  or  four  times  as  many  as  if  the  land  was  turned  over 
to  the  stock  themselves.  This  plan  applies  with  peculiar 
force  to  those  owning  small  parcels  of  land,  to  renters,  or  to 
persons  owning  a  large  town  lot.  Food  of  a  good  character 
rfay  be  grown  in  sufficient  quantity,  on  a  mere  town  lot  to 
feed  a  cow  or  a  horse  during  the  entire  winter. 

There  is  some  difficulty  in  curing  corn  fodder  properly, 
as  it  contains  so  much  water.  It  should  be  cut  and  spread 
in  good  weather,  or,  if  possible,  let  it  be  put  in  shocks, 
stand  until  cured,  and  then  it  must  have  shelter.  This 
shelter  may  be  provided  in  various  ways,  either  barns,  sheds 
or  stacks. 

And  immense  saving  will  be  made  by  cutting  the  whole 
up  in  a  straw  cutter.  A  farmer  who  once  uses  a  good  straw 
cutter,  not  only  on  stalks,  but  on  hay  and  all  roughness, 
will  never  feed  without  it  afterward  if  he  has  the  industry 
to  do  that  which  his  judgment  approves. 

It  has  been  a  desideratum  with  all  far  farmers  to  secure 
green  food  for  cattle  all  through  the  year.  In  the  colder 
climates  this  is  impossible,  from  the  presence  of  snow 
through  the  long  winter.  But  in  the  milder  climates  of 
the  South,  and  generally  in  Tennessee,  this  can  be  done  by 
sowing  rye,  barley  and  wheat,  and  also  by  having  a  winter 
pasture  of  blue  grass  and  other  grasses.  But  within  the 
last  few  years,  a  plan  has  been  invented  in  France,  by  which 
any  man  can  have  the  best  of  green  food,  almost  identical 
with  that  cut  out  of  a  field,  all  through  the  year.  It  was 
long  known  that  the  pulp  of  sugar  beets  left  after  extract- 
ing the  sugar,  was  a  very  superior  food,  both  for  cattle  and 
hogs.  Various  experiments  were  instituted  by  which  a 
plan  for  its  preservation  might  be  devised,  and  at  last  it  was 
discovered  that  if  preserved  from  contact  with  the  atmos- 
phere it  would  remain  a  fermented  food,  and  the  process  of 


384  CEREALS. 

putrifaction  would  not  set  in.  In  this  condition  it  was  as 
good  for  food  as  when  first  compressed.  This  beet  pulp 
partakes  of  the  same  nature  of  the  still  slops  of  our  distil- 
lery, only  not  so  rich  in  nitrogenous  qualities.  An  enter- 
prising farmer  conceived  the  idea  that  green  fodder  could 
be  saved  in  the  same  manner,  and  after  various  experi- 
ments, conducted  through  several  years,  he  evolved  the 
plan  called  "eusilage."  This  practice  has  now  become  an 
established  plan,  not  only  in  France,  but  in  nearly  all  Eu- 
ropean countries,  and  has  received  a  long  notice  and  recom- 
mendation from  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  in  Wash- 
ington. We  will  give  the  details  so  that  any  man  can  test 
it  to  his  own  satisfaction,  and  we  know  no  reason  why  our 
horses  and  cows  should  not  be  regaled  with  green  food 
through  winter,  as  well  as  man  with  preserved  vegetables 
and  fruits,  and  the  principle  is  the  same. 

Eusilage  embraces  principally  corn  fodder,  but  is  not  con- 
fined to  it,  as  it  has  been  applied  to  hay,  peas,  oats  rye,  bar- 
ley and  clover.  But  here  is  the  plan  : 

A  pit  is  dug  from  five  to  seven  and  a  half  feet  deep,  the 
length  of  corn  fodder  say  six  feet  wide  and  twelve  feet  long 
at  the  top,  but  only  ten  feet  long  at  the  bottom.  The  fod- 
der is  allowed  to  lay  on  the  ground  after  cutting  until  it- 
wilts,  and  is  then  packed  evenly  and  closely  in  the  pit  until 
the  pile  rises  as  high  above  as  the  pit  is  deep.  During  the 
packing,  it  must  be  trodden  as  firmly  down  as  possible.  All 
the  earth  that  comes  from  the  pit  is  then  thrown  on  the 
heap,  it  having  previously  been  covered  with  straw.  The 
sides  and  ends  must  be  sloped  so  as  to  carry  oft  all  rains 
and  there  must  be  at  least  three  feet  of  earth  on  top.  This 
is  necessary  for  the  benefit  of  the  pressure,  as  it  will  not 
keep  well  unless  well  packed.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days 
the  pile  will  have  shrunk  to  half  its  original  bulk,  and  it 
will,  in  settling,  dislocate  the  surface  forming  fissures  in  the 
soil.  This  must  be  noticed  closely  and  the  cracks  stopped 
at  once,  and  packed  over,  as  if  air  gets  to  the  mass,  the  fer- 


INDIAN   CORN.  385 

mentation  that  is  going  on  will  become  putrefaction,  and 
the  fodder  will  be  lost.  The  success  depends  entirely  on 
the  extent  of  the  exclusion  of  air.  Sometimes  when  the 
crevices  in  the  soil  are  not  at  once  stopped  the  fumes  of  the 
alochol  may  be  distinctly  detected,  showing  that  fermenta- 
tion is  rapidly  going  to  its  next  process,  putrafaction.  One 
case  is  noticed  where  an  entire  failure  took  place  because 
the  pit  was  covered  with  sand,  its  porosity  admitting  the 
air.  In  the  beginning  of  this  process  simple  pits  were 
made,  the  sides  being  nothing  more  than  earth,  and  they 
were  lined  with  straw  or  boards,  but  since  its  success  has 
been  assured,  these  pits  are  lined  with  brick  and  hydraulic 
cement  to  exclude  moisture,  as  it  was  found  that  the  fodder 
coming  in  contact  with  the  earth  was  generally  mouldy  and 
worthless.  For  the  same  reason  shelters  are  erected  over 
them,  though  if  the  sides  are  properly  Joped  and  ditched 
around,  this  will  be  unnecessary.  Not  only  are  the  various 
kinds  of  forage  preserved  in  this  way,  but  all  kinds  of  roots, 
such  as  beets,  turnips,  potatoes,  carrots,  etc.,  and  apples  may 
be  kept.  It  appears  from  analyses  carefully  made  that  a 
slight  degree  of  fermentation  takes  place  in  the  fodder,  re- 
ducing its  water  and  increasing  its  azotized  and  fatty  princi- 
ples. It  is  greedily  devoured  by  all  kinds  of  stock,  and  in 
every  respect  is  equal  to  the  green  food  as.  it  stood  in  the 
fields.  The  fodder  of  corn  does  not  change  its  color  or  ap- 
perance  in  the  least,  nor  does  clover,  but  other  hays  take  on 
a  slightly  brownish  tinge.  When  desired  for  use  it  can  be 
taken  up  and  placed  in  the  barn,  being  careful  to  take  out 
not  more  than  a  weeks  supply  at  a  time,  unless  the  weather 
is  freezing  cold  ;  and  the  residue  must  be  carefully  covered 
as  before.  For  this  reason  some  farmers  have  their  pits 
divided  by  partitions  so  that  one  compartment  may  be  taken 
up  at  a  time.  The  reason  for  sloping  the  ends  of  the  pit 
•  is  that  equal  pressure  may  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  entire 
pile,  it  being  ascertained  that  unless  pressure  is  made  on  all 
it  will  not  keep  well.  Some  French  writers  advocate  the 
26 


386 


CERFALS. 


mingling  of  straw  with  the  fodder,  and  contend  it  improve 
the  keeping  qualities  of  the  fodder,  while  the  latter  imparts 
a  freshness  to  the  straw,  making  it  more  palatable. 

The  following  is  an  analysis  of  the  maize  before  and  after 
eusilage : 


S 

M 

1 

a  d 

| 

Ii 

II 

1 

§i 

S'S 

8 

3 

'3 

2 

0 

^ 

» 

$ 

Water  

81.21 

81.28 

60.71 

14.50 

Sugar  . 

0.58 

0.15 

Azotized  matters  

1.22 

1.24 

3.74 

4.88 

Non-azotized  matters. 

10.40 

9.58 

14.59 

34.52 

Fatty  matters  .    

0.25 

0.36 

1.50 

1.50 

Crude  cullulose 

4.98 

4.91 

8.70 

35.50 

Ashes                                 

1.29 

2.25 

8.43 

9.10 

Acid       

0.23 

0.44 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

In  this  case  the  maize  had  undergone  a  good  deal  of  dry- 
ing in  the  sun  and  winds  before  it  had  been  put  in  the  pit. 
Therefore  there  was  less  difference,  or  rather  no  difference, 
in  the  moisture.  The  advantage  this  form  of  hay  has  over  the 
dried  hay  is  the  facility  of  digestion,  and  its  peculiar  pow- 
er in  promoting  a  flow  of  milk,  in  fact  just  the  same  differ- 
ence there  is  between  the  dry  food  of  winter,  and  the  juicy 
succulent  grasses  of  summer.  It  has  never  to  our  know- 
ledge been  tested  in  Tennessee,  but  that  it  would  succeed 
here  as  well  as*  in  Europe  seems  probable.  It  certainly 
would  be  an  easy  way  to  provide  a  large  supply  of  green 
forage.  The  pits  will  contain  about  ten  tons  each. 

I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  Edward  Young,  of  the  Bureau  of 
statistics,  for  the  necessary  data  to  exhibit  the  exports  of 


INDIAN    CORN.  387 


STATISTICTS   OF   CORN. 

this  great  cereal  from  the  early  history  of  the  country  to 
the  present  time.  In  an  article  on  the  early  exportation  of 
dried  stuffs,  contributed  by  Dr.  Young  to  the  American  Ex- 
porter, he  says : 

"  The  first  settlers  of  Virginia  in  the  early  years  of  the 
17th  century,  and  o!  Massachusetts  a  few  years  later,  as 
well  as  those  of  New  York,  Pennsylvi  nia,  Maryland  anc 
other  States,  were  anxious  to  raise  sufficient  wheat,  maize 
and  other  cereals  to  feed  their  families,  so  as  to  be  indepen- 
dent of  the  mother  country  as  regards  food.  Many  years 
elapsed  before  the  area  of  grain  crops  was  sufficiently  large, 
•And  the  richer  soils  were  brought  under  cultivation  to  enable 
producers  to  raise  a  surplus  sufficient  to  supply  the  demand 
of  tropical  or  semi-tropical  countries.  The  first  recorded 
export  of  grain  from  the  United  States  occurred  in  1646, 
when  a  vessel  of  100  tons  burden,  built  at  New  Haven  and 
probably  bound  for  the  Canary  Islands,  was  lost  with  70 
persons  and  a  cargo  of  wheat. 

In  1678  there  was  considerable  export  of  fiour  and  bread 
from  New  York,  chiefly  to  the  West  Indies. 

In  1682  there  was  a  grist  mill  at  Hoboken,  which  was 
owned  in  New  York.  Flour  and  grain  were  that  year 
mentioned  as  articles  of  exports  from  the  eastern  section  of 
New  Jersey. 

The  total  exports  of  bread  stuffs  from  all  the  colonies  in 
1770,  was  of  bread,  flour  and  meal  458,868  barrels,  valued 
at  about  $2,862,190;  of  wheat,  851,240  bushels,  and  of  In- 
dian corn,  578,349  bushels.  This  amount  Lord  Sheffield, 
after  the  war  doubted  the  capacity  of  this  country  to  exceed. 
Up  to  that  time  England  had  usually  exported  grain,  yet  had 
at  different  times  been  forced  to  depend  on  supplies  from  the 
colonies ;  and  her  West  India  possessions  were  mainly  fed 
from  this  country.  Hence  in  the  traffic  with  the  islands  this 
branch  of  colonial  industry  was  an  exceedingly  important 


388 


CEREALS. 


'For  some  time  past  the  Old  World  has  been  fed  from  the 
New.  The  scarcity  you  have  felt  would  have  been  a  deso- 
lating famine,  if  this  child  of  your  old  age,  with  a  true  fil- 
ial piety,  with  a  Roman  charity,  had  not  put  the  full  breast 
of  its  youthful  exuberance  to  the  mouth  of  its  exhausted 
parent.' " 

Dr.  Young  furnishes  me  with  the  following  statement, 
showing  the  exportation  of  corn  and  meal  from  the  United 
States  from  1790  to  1799,  and  to  what  countries  they  were 
sent: 


FISCAL  YEABS. 

Great 
Britain. 

France. 

Spain. 

Portugal 
and 
Portuguese 
Islands. 

West 
Indies. 

Total  to  all 
Countries. 

INDIAN  COKN. 

1790           

98,407 
69,616 
58,888 
600 
15,814 
147,727 
237,504 
3,000 
1,618 
30 

10,350 
5,945 
63,370 
6,251 
4,000 
513,351 
39,911 

747,849 
133,535 
381,555 
104,692 
168,537 
200,293 
11,470 
17,820 
89,614 
10,946 

468,537 
876,9;i5 
467,001 
386,243 
494.272 
310,901 
64,814 
59,450 
336,503 
350,192 

687,481 
540,761 
928,756 
66(J,414 
508,303 
083,553 
793,466 
576,692 
693,468 
580,368 

2,102,137 
1,713,241 
1,964,973 
1,22*5,972 
1,472,700 
1,935,315 
1,173,552 
804,&22 
1,218,231 
1,200,492 

1791         

1792 

1793   

1794  

1795  

1796  .... 

1797 

1798 

1799 

Total  in  ten  years  

633,204 

643,178 

1,866,311 

3,814,818 

6,662,262 

14,812,56;- 

INDIAN   CORN. 


389 


Statement  showing  the  quantity  of  Indian  corn,  and  corn 
meal,  exported  from  the  United  States  during  the  21  fiscal 
years  ending  September  30,  1820: 


FISCAL  YEARS. 


Bushels. 

1800 1,694,327 

1S01 1,768,162 

802 1,633,283 

1803 2,079  608 

1304 1,944  873 

1805 861,501 

1806 1.064,263 

1807 «...  612,421 

1808 , 249,532 

1809 522,074 

1810 . .- 1,054,252 

Total  in  11  years 13,484,296 


1811. 
1812, 
1813. 
1814. 
1815. 
1816. 
1817. 
1818. 
1819. 
1820. 


Total  in  10  years. 


Indian 
Corn. 


2,790,850 

2,039,999 

1,486,970 

61,284 

830  516 
1,077,614 

387,454 
1,675,190 
1,086.762 

533:741 

11,970,380 


Corn 
Meal. 


Bushels. 

338,108 

919,355 

266  816 

Barrels. 

133,606 

111.327 

116,131 

108.342 

136,460 

30,818 

57,260 

86744 


147,425 

90,810 

58521 

26.438 

72,364 

89,119 

106,763 

120,029 

1*35,271 

146,316 

993.056 


390 


CEREALS. 


Statement  showing  the  values  of  exported  Indian  corn 
and  meal  each  of  the  ten  years,  (ending  September  30th,) 
from  1821  to  1830  inclusive  : 


YEABS. 

Corn. 

Meal. 

1821        .... 

$       261,0091  \ 

I     345  180 

1822  '  

378,427 

522,229 

1823 

453,622  ! 

476  867 

1824  

351  665' 

384,675 

1825..  

429,906; 

448,167 

1826             ...            

384,  955  '' 

622,  36H 

1827 

588  462? 

434  OO9 

1828       .                      .                        . 

342^824 

480  034 

1829   

478  862  1 

495  67  2 

1830 

224  823! 

372  29fi 

I 

Total  for  decade $8  394  645 1   $4  581,489 

During  that  period  the  export  of  wheat  amounted  to  only 
$181,732,  of  flour  $49,043,089,  and  of  rye,  oats  and  other 
grain  $766,747.  The  percentage  of  bread  stuffs  to  total 
exports  was  .908;  of  Indian-meal  .860;  of  flour  9.21. 

The  values  of  exported  Indian  corn  and  meal  for  the 
next  decade,  from  1831  to  1840  inclusive,  were  as  follows  : 


YEABS. 

Corn. 

Meal. 

1831 

$   396,617 

$  595  4o4 

1832        .    .   

278  740 

480,035 

1833 

337,505 

534  309 

1834     ..   .     .     .   

203,573 

491,910 

1835  

588,276 

629  389 

1836           .      

103,702 

621  560 

1837  

147,982 

763,652 

1838 

141,992 

722  399 

1839    

141,095 

658,421 

1840 

338  333 

705,  18o 

Total  for  decade 

$2  677  815 

$6  202  292 

For  this  decade  the  value  of  the  exports  of  wheat  increas- 
ed fourteen  fold,  being  $2,554,432.  The  exports  of  flour 
were  valued  at  $56,579,601,  and  of  rye,  oats,  and  other 
small  grain,  including  pulse  for  this  same  period,  $900,- 
928.  The  percentage  of  corn  to  other  exports  was  .303 ; 


INDIAN    COEN. 


391 


of  wheat  .289  ;  of  other  grain  .102  ;  of  corn   meal  .70;   of 
flour  6.42. 

Statement  showing  the  values  of  exported  corn  and  corn 
meal  from  the  United  States,  for  the  decade  ending  June 
30,  1850.  In  consequence  of  the  change  of  the  fiscal  year, 
in  1843,  from  September  30  to  June  30,  the  figures  given 
for  that  year  are  for  a  period  of  nine  months  only : 


YEAES. 

Corn. 

Corn  Meal 

1841 

$       312,954 

$    682,457 

1842 

345,150 

617,817 

1843             

281,749 

454,166 

1844  

404,008 

641,029 

1845 

411,741 

641,552 

1846  

1,186,663 

945,081 

1847..  .  .  

14,395,212 

4  301,334 

1848                                                            .    . 

3.837,483 

1,807,601 

1849  

7,966,369 

1,169,625 

1850  

3,892,193 

760  611 

Total  for  decade  

$52,307,184 

$12,021,278 

The  exports  of  wheat  for  the  same  period  were  valued 
at  $15,641,878;  of  flour  $100,431,897;  of  other  grain  and 
pulse  $3,631,784.  The  percentage  of  Indian  corn  to  all 
the  other  exports  from  the  United  States  for  this  decade 
was  2.95 ;  of  corn  meal  1.07 ;  of  wheat  1.40 ;  of  other  grain 
.324  ;  of  flour  8.97.  It  will  be  observed  the  exports  of  In- 
dian corn  and  meal,  for  the  year  1847,  were  largely  increas 
ed.  This  was  due  to  the  famine  which  prevailed  that  year 
in  Ireland.  Immense  quantities  of  corn  and  corn  meal 
were  sent  from  this  country  to  the  relief  of  her  suffering 
people. 


392 


CEREALS. 


Statement  showing  the  value  of  Indian  corn  exported 
from  the  United  States  for  each  of  the  ten  fiscal  years  end- 
ing June  30,  from  1851  to  1860,  inclusive  : 


Indian  Corn 

Meal. 

1851.      .  .  .  .     

$  1  762  549 

$  622,866 

1852  

1,540,225 

574,380 

1853          .           .... 

1  374  077 

709,974 

1854  

6,074,277 

1  002,976 

1855 

6  961  571 

1,237,122 

1856   .   .   .  .      

7  622  565 

1,175  688 

1857 

5  184  666 

957  791 

1858   

3  259,039 

877,692 

1859  

1,328,103 

994  269 

I860   

2  399,808 

912,075 

Total  for  jdecade  

$37  501.880 

$9,064  833 

The  exports  of  wheat,  same  period,  amounts  to  $75,028,- 
686;  rye,  oats  and  other  grain,  $7,717,102;  flour,  $180,- 
143,666  ;  percentage  of  Indian  corn  to  other  exports,  1.62; 
of  wheat,  3.23;  of  other  grain,  .332;  of  corn  meal,  .390; 
of  flour,  7.76. 

Value  of  exported  corn  from  the  United  States  for  each 
of  the  ten  fiscal  years,  ending  June  30,  from  1861  to  1870, 
inclusive.  The  Southern  ports  were  excluded  during  the 
years  1861,  2,  3,  4  and  5,  because  of  the  blockade  and  civil 
war. 


Indian  Corn 

Meal. 

1861    

$  6,890,865 

$      692,003 

1862  

10,387,383 

778,344 

1863  

10  592,704 

1,013,27? 

1864 

3,404  398 

1,349,765 

1865    

3,849,758 

1.490,928* 

1866 

11,070,395 

1,129,484 

1867    

14,871,092 

1,555,585 

1868  

13,094,036 

2,068,430 

1869        

6,820,719 

1,656,278 

1870  

1,287,574 

935,676 

Total  for  decade 


$82.268.925 


$12,669,760 


INDIAN   CORN. 


393 


The  exports  of  wheat  for  the  last  decade  were  valued  at 
$295,938,699;- of  flour,  $225,713,645;  of  rye  flour,  $582,- 
909;  of  rye,  oats  and  other  grain,  $16,120,321.  The  per- 
centage of  the  value  of  Indian  corn  to  other  exports  was 
2.60;  of  corn  meal,  .400;  of  wheat,  9.35;  of  flour,  7.13; 
of  other  grain,  .509. 

Statement  showing  the  value  of  exports  of  Indian  corn 
and  meal  for  each  of  the  fiscal  years,  (ending  June  30,)  from 
1871  to  1878. 


Indian  Corn. 

Meal. 

1871 

$  7  458  997 

$   951  830 

1^72      

23  984  365 

1  214  999 

1873  

23,794,694 

1,474,827 

1874 

24  769  951 

1  529  399 

1875    

24  465  937 

1  290  533 

1876  

33,265,280 

1,305,027 

1877 

41  621  245 

1  511  152 

1878  to  April  

37  660,612 

1  101,122 

Total  for  eight  years,  less  two  months. . . .  $217,012,081  $10,378,889 

Exports  of  wheat  for  the  same  period  were  valued  at 
$493,076,289.  Exports  of  flour  were  valued  at  $181,396,- 
267. 

The  amount  of  corn  raised  in  the  United  -States,  and  in 
Tennessee,  as  taken  from  the  census  returns  and  the  reports 
of  the  agricultural  department,  is  as  follows : 


1850  .... 

U.  S.,  bush. 

Tenn.  bush 

592,071,104 
838,  92,742 
760,944,549 
991,898.000 
1,092,719,000 
932,274,000 
850,148,500 
1,321,069,000 
1,283,827,500 

52,276  223 
52,089,926 
41,343,614 
45,900,000 
46,818,000 
42,604,000 
31,953,000 
58,000,000 
54,500,000 

I860  . 

1870  '.  

1871  

1872  

1873  . 

T874  .  . 

1875  

1876  

394 


CEREALS. 


The  total  quantity  of  the  principal  agricultural  products 
of  Tennessee,  together  with  their  value,  will  give  a  little 
idea  of  the  power  of  king  corn.  This  table  is  for  1876,  the 
last  issued  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washing- 
ton. 


Indian  Corn 
Wheat.    ... 
Rye  
Oats  • 

Bushels 

Av'age  y'ld 
per  acre. 

Acres  in  each 
crop. 

Value  per 
bushel. 

Total  valua- 
tion. 

54,500,000 
11,260,000 
355,000 
5,400,000 
80,000 
97,000 
1,260,000 
32,200,000 
165,000 

ber  of  acre 

24.5 
8.3 
9. 
17.6 
18.5 
16.4 
80. 
630. 
1.36 

8.  

2,224,489 
1,356626 
39  444 
366,818 
4,324 
5,914 
15,750 
51,111 
121,323 

.32 
.93 

.92 
.39 
.90 
.83 
.48 
.  8 
13.56 

$17.440  000 
10,471,800 
326,600 
2,106,000 
72,000- 
80,510 
604,800 
2,576,000 
2,237,400 

Barley  
Buckwheat. 
Potatoes  .  .  . 
Tobacco,  fbs 
Hay,  cwt  .  . 

Total  num 

4,125,799 



$35,915,110 

INDIAN    CORN. 


395 


The  following  table  is  from  the  American  Almanac  re- 
cently issued.  The  prices  given  are  the  average  prices  in 
New  York  city  for  the  month  of  January  of  each  year: 


Year. 

Corn,  Bu. 

Wheat, 
Bu. 

Oats,  Bu. 

Pork, 

Mess 
Barrel. 

Cotton, 
Upland, 
Pound  . 

Wool;  lb. 

182r;            

$        42 

$    1  01 

$        27% 

$    13  37 

$        14 

8        32V 

1826        

74 

90 

45% 

11  75 

13% 

34 

1827  

70 

93 

56 

11  87% 

9% 

25 

1828                           

57 

1  15 

34 

14  12% 

9  2 

25 

1829 

59 

1  63 

30  V 

12  25 

10 

22% 

1830                            

54  - 

1  04 

32 

11  50 

9V 

21k' 

1831                         

58% 

1  25 

31  V 

13  87 

i(T 

25 

1832 

75 

1  26V 

50 

13  50 

8V 

27V 

1833 

81% 

1  19 

49  V 

13  25 

10V 

32% 

1834  

59% 

1  06 

44 

14  50 

£r 

22% 

18:!5                         

74 

1  05 

40 

13  75 

16V 

27% 

Ig:i6                          

90% 

1  73 

56% 

18  25 

i*r 

32V 

1837        

1  06 

1  77% 

57  2 

23  50 

16 

45 

1838        

86 

1  02 

"42  1/ 

21  50 

11  V 

30 

1839            

92 

1  24% 

55 

23  25 

14* 

38% 

1840                

59% 

1  06 

33  1/ 

14  25 

8v 

32V 

1841 

52 

1  03 

52 

13  25 

9V 

27% 

1842 

67 

1  25 

49 

9  62% 

8V 

20 

1843      

59% 

88% 

33  y. 

8  87% 

P 

19 

1844                           

43 

1  00 

43 

10  12% 

8 

26V 

1845  

51% 

1  02% 

56% 

9  31V, 

5 

29 

1846    

74 

1  31 

47  1/ 

13  56 

6V 

27 

1847                    

80 

1  02% 

40% 

10  25 

io/2 

23 

1848  

77 

1  25 

5nv 

ll  00 

'     7v 

29 

1849                 

64M 

1  22% 

41 

14  18 

<T 

26 

1850             

61 

1  25 

43  L/ 

ll  81 

11 

31 

1851  

64% 

1  20 

48% 

12  18 

13  V 

34  V 

18r>2  

70% 

1  09 

471^ 

14  68 

!r 

31 

1853 

68% 

1  32 

51V 

19  62 

Qix 

QQ 

1854  

82% 

2  04 

49  X 

13  43 

i!r 

39 

1855                     

1  01 

2  57 

55% 

12  62 

7 

25V 

1856  

93 

2  14 

46  X 

17  37 

9 

32 

1857             

73% 

1  75 

47 

19  67 

13 

35 

1858  

61 

1  37 

42% 

15  75 

9 

29V 

1859  

80% 

1  40 

50% 

17  57 

11 

33 

1860  
1861 

91% 
73 

1  45 
1  44 

46% 
38 

16  18  ' 
16  12 

11 

12 

39 
32 

1862.... 
1863  

67 

75 

1  38 
1  53 

40% 
70% 

12  25 
14  43 

37 

66V 

47 
63% 

1864  

1  26 

1  82% 

89% 

19  87 

75 

28V 

1865             

1  95 

1  85 

1  03 

35  25 

70 

55 

1866  

95% 

1  87V 

1  20 

29  12 

51  V 

70 

1867  

1  16% 

3  00 

80 

19  12 

29 

60 

1868  

1  20 

2  45 

85 

21  00 

'16 

48 

1869    .. 

90 

1  70 

75 

28  OQ 

26 

57 

1870 

1  12 

1  30 

78 

29  7  •> 

OK3/ 

fil 

1871  

80 

1  42 

75 

19  75 

15V 

40 

1872  

78 

1  50 

54 

14  50 

20 

70 

1873 

66 

1  67 

68 

13  25 

20V 

70 

1874  

84 

1  65 

77 

16  50 

!16V 

55 

1875  

97 

1  25 

65 

20  50 

14V 

56 

1876  

71 

1  30 

59 

20  75 

13V 

49 

1877  

59 

1  47 

1            55 

17  50 

12% 

48 

396  CEREALS. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

OATS,    RICE,    RYE. 

OATS — Avena  saliva. 

The  oat  grows  in  panicles,  the  calyx  being  two-seeded;  seeds  one 
bearded ;  flowers  and  seeds  alternate  in  each 
calyx  conical  in  shape,  the  smaller  awnless, 
the  larger  having  a  strong  bent  awn  of  two 
colors;  the  branches  of  the  panicle  are  erect 
when  green,  but  bend  and  droop  with  weight 
of  seeds  as  they  ripen.  The  glumes  or  chaff 
of  seed  are  nerved,  pointed  at  end,  longer 
than  flower,  and  unequal.  The  stem  is  hol- 
low, two  to  four  feet  high,  and  is  an  annual. 

The  word  oat  is  derived  from  the 
Saxon,  and  signifies  eat.  Avena  is  a 
Latin  word,  meaning  desire,  and  re- 
fers to  the  fondness  of  stock  for  it. 
Sativa  means  sown,  and  is  also  a  Latin 
word. 

The  oat,  like  wheat  and  the  other 
small  grains,  has  an  origin  in  antiqui- 
ty far  beyond  the  ken  of  man.  Pliny 
speaks  of  it  as  a  diet  for  the  sick,  and 
in  many  of  the  profuse  histories  it  is 
spoken  of  as  a  food  for  horses.  So 
soon  as  the  continent  of  America  was 
settled  the  oat  was  cultivated,  and  sam- 
ples sent  back  to  the  old  country  as  an 
evidence  of  the  prosperity  of  the  colon- 
ists. The  Virginians  did  not  cultivate  it  to  the  same  ex- 
tent as  the  Pilgrims,  nor  has  it  ever  reached  that  degree  of 


OATS.  397 

popularity  in  the  South  it  has  in  the  North.  Nor  has  it 
ever  been  exported  to  the  same  extent  as  the  other  grains, 
the  supply  barely  furnishing  the  home  demand.  In  the 
early  and  middle  ages  it  formed  a  chief  constituent  of  the 
food  of  man,  and  even  now,  in  several  European  countries,  it 
is  preferred  by  many  people  to  any  of  the  cereals.  Oat- 
cake in  Scotland  is  as  common  as  "bakers'  bread"  with  us. 
Those  who  eat  it  claim  that  it  produces  long-windedness, 
and  the  mountaineer,  with  his  loaf  of  oat  bread,  will  walk 
over  the  steep,  broken  country  of  the  Highlands  with  as 
much  facility  as  an  American  will  over  his  broad  prairies. 
It  is  found  growing  wild  in  California,  and  in  several  of 
the  Pacific  islands,  but  it  may  have  been  scattered  there  by 
some  of  the  voyagers  in  their  landings  for  water. 

This  cereal  forms  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  grains, 
and  is,  with  the  exception  of  wheat,  more  generally  culti- 
vated than  any  other.  In  America  it  is  only  raised  for 
stock.  It  contains  more  nitrogenous  matter  and  more  su- 
gar than  corn,  but  less  starch  and  fat,  and  where  used  for 
food  for  man  it  has  maintained  its  popularity  through  all 
vicisitudes. 

There  are  numerous  varieties  of  oats,  some  quite  distinct 
and  well  marked,  while  others  are  nothing  more  than  the 
ordinary  changes  produced  by  good  cultivation  and  climatic 
influences.  The  common  "black  oat/7  the  "white  oat,"  the 
"Spanish  oat,"  "Chenailles  oat,"  "potato  oat,"  "Hopetown 
oat,"  "black  Prussian,"  "great  flag,"  "Cumberland,"  "white 
Swedish,"  "yellow  Lithuania,"  "white  Tartarian,"  "black 
Tartarian,"  "black  Poland,"  "late  and  early  Angus," 
"Egyptian,"  "Barbary,"  and  an  endless  list  of  local  names 
that  only  result  from  some  particular  circumstance  of  soil 
or  cultivation,  are  the  most  common  varieties  in  use. 

A  few  years  ago  some  man  professed  to  have  found  in  a 
package  of  seeds  received  from  Norway  a  few  grains  of  oats, 
and  by  manuring  well  they  were  grown  into  a  monster  oat 
that  sold  at  fabulous  prices,  as  a  distinct  variety.  In  1788 


398  CEREALS. 

a  gentleman  in  Cumberland,  England,  discovered  a  stalk  of 
oats  coming  up  among  some  potatoes,  and,  carefully  saving 
the  seed,  he  originated  probably  the  best  variety  of  oats  of 
that  day,  and  it  still  maintains  its  popularity  in  the  North 
as  the  Potato  oat.  Some  gentleman  visiting  the  deserted 
camp  of  the  Choctaws,  in  Georgia,  after  their  removal, 
found  at  their  old  stables,  a  few  stalks  of  yellow  or  red  oats. 
He  gathered  and  sowed  them,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  "In- 
dian camp  oat.  This  oat  is  now  in  the  Southern  States,  and 
in  portions  of  Tennessee  the  most  popular  variety  grown, 
and  will  make  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  bushels  per 
acre.  It  has  such  a  coarse,  strong  straw  that  it  will  grow 
without  any  danger  of  lodging  on  the  richest  bottom  lands. 
The  husk  is  a  reddish  yellow,  very  much  like  the  husk  of 
the  "golden  chaff"  wheat.  This  oat  has  not  come  into  such 
general  cultivation  as  it  deserves,  and  it  will,  ultimately  no 
doubt,  attain  a  great  popularity.  Many  farmers  in  the 
Eastern  part  of  Williamson  county,  sow  it  regularly,  hav- 
ing been  introduced  by  a  Mr.  P.  P.  McArthur,  a  Georgia 
immigrant.  The  Potato  oat  above  referred  to  is  very  pop- 
ular in  England  where  it  originated,  and  is  almost  the  only 
variety  grown  in  Scotland.  It  is  large,  plump,  rather  thick 
skinned,  white  grains,  double  and  treble,  long  straw,  and  in 
England  commands  a  higher  price  than  any  other.  The 
"Hopetown"  is  another  English  variety,  originating  from 
one  stalk  growing  among  the  potato  oats  in  1824.  It  was 
distributed  by  the  Agricultural  Bureau  from  Washington, 
in  1873. 

The  yellow  oat  was  also  distributed  at  the  same  time,  and 
is  giving  very  good  satisfaction.  The  two  last  are  both  im- 
ported from  Scotland. 

But  the  most  popular  oat  of  Tennessee  is  the  Black  oat. 
There  are,  like  the  White  oat,  several  varieties  of  this  kind. 
The  Prussian,  Poland  and  Spanish,  are  the  best  known. 

The  Egyptian  oat,  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago, 
attained  a  great  popularity,  both  from  the  height  of  the 


OATS.  399 

straw,  and  the  quantity  of  seed.  It  presented  a  peculiar 
appearance,  from  the  fact  the  panicles  all  drooped  to  one 
side,  looking  like  a  plume.  It  was  in  its  full  tide  of  suc- 
cess when  the  rust  made  its  appearance  in  Tennessee,  com- 
plely  destroying,  for  several  years,  oat  culture,  and  many 
persons  attributed  the  outbreak  of  the  rust  to  this  variety 
of  oats,  and  it  has  not  been  grown  to  any  extent  since.  It 
is  a  very  valuable  variety,  and  well  deservers  to  be  restored 
to  popular  favor. 

The  many  varieties  of  oats  cultivated  in  the  North,  where 
oat  culture  is  more  popular  than  here,  are  but  little  known 
to  Tennessee  farmers.  And,  really,  it  is  of  but  little  conse- 
quence, since  the  modifications  of  soil,  climate  and  cultiva- 
tion would  soon  obliterate  any  small  difference.  We  have, 
it  may  be  said,  four  varieties  that  answer  all  the  requisites 
for  successful  farming.  These  are  Black  oat,  White  oat, 
Egyptian  oat  and  Red  or  Yellow  oat.  Although  the  Black 
oat  commands  the  higher  price  for  seed,  there  are  many  who 
will  only  sow  the  White  oat.  The  last  two  named  are  not 
sufficiently  known  to  come  in  the  market  as  favorites. 

Besides  these,  a  variety  of  White  Spanish  oat  has  been 
sown  to  a  very  limited  extent,  as  a  winter  oat.  In  the 
South,  winter  oats  are  more  common  than  Spring.  There 
is,  however,  no  material  difference  between  the  winter  and 
spring  varieties,  as  any  of  the  spring  oats  can  be  converted 
in  a  few  years  into  winter  oats.  This  is  done  by  sowing 
any  variety  wished  in  the  fall,  and  saving  what  comes  to 
maturity,  and  resowing  next  fall.  The  first  harvest  but 
little  will  be  secured,  the  next  harvest  possibly  half,  and  the 
third  or  fourth  year  a  full  crop  will  be  secured.  It  would 
be  well  to  acclimatize  several  varieties  to  the  winter,  as  the 
heads  will  be  heavier,  though  there  is  less  straw.  Besides, 
they  afford  a  good  pasture  during  the  winter. 

Although  the  commercial  weight  of  a  bushel  of  oats  is 
32  pounds,  yet  some  varieties  weigh  as  much  as  40  to  45 
pounds.  It  is  claimed  that  the  Potato  oat  is  the  heaviest 


400  CEREALS. 

of  any  variety.  A  winter  oat,  sown  for  many  years  past  by 
Mr.  Tom  Crutchfield,  of  Chattanooga,  furnishes  an  immense 
amount  of  winter  pasturage.  When  I  visited  his  farm,  in 
November,  the  earth  was  matted  with  the  rich,  rank,  dark- 
green  herbage,  fifteen  inches  high,  looking  like  a  thrifty 
wheat  field  in  early  May.  I  am  satisfied  that  the  amount  of 
grazing  which  this  crop  will  furnish  until  the  middle  of 
March,  will  equal  that  furnished  by  the  same  number 
of  acres  of  the  very  best  clover.  This  oat  is  an  annual, 
hardy  as  rye,  springs  up,  after  being  cropped,  with  more  ra- 
pidity, and  furnishes  a  larger  amount  of  grazing  than  wheat, 
rye,  barley,  or  any  other  winter  grazing  grass.  It  matures 
earlier  than  the  common  oat  by  ten  days,  is  not  attacked  by 
the  fly,,  and  can  be  seeded  at  a  time  when  farmers,  outside 
of  the  tobacco  growing  districts,  have  most  leisure.  By  its 
aid  stock  may  be  carried  through  the  winter  for  one-half 
what  they  can  be  with  regular  winter  feed.  I  am  satisfied 
that  the  cost  of  keeping  sheep  through  the  winter,  with  this 
oat  will  not  exceed  twenty-cents  per  head,  nor  a  cow  more 
than  two  dollars. 

The  yield  is  as  various  as  the  character  of  soils.  Some 
thin  lands  will  not  make  more  than  fifteen  bushels  per  acre, 
while  a  good  heavy,  stiff  loam  will,  with  the  some  variety, 
yield  seventy-five  or  eighty  bushels  per  acre.  The  average 
may  fairly  be  stated  at  thirty-five  bushels  o*h  all  sorts  of 
lands.  One  gentleman  sowed  two  acres  of  land  as  nearly  sim- 
ilar as  possible,  and  with  the  same  cultivation.  One  acre 
he  left  in  its  natural  state,  while  he  sowed  one  hundred 
pounds  of  gypsum  or  land  plaster  on  the  other.  On  the 
first  he  got  fifteen  bushels  of  oats,  while  on  the  other  he  ob- 
tained sixty-three  bushels,  nearly  fifty  bushels  the  result  of 
one  hundred  pounds  of  plaster.  There  is,  probably,  no 
other  crop  that  responds  more  promptly  to  the  application 
of  manures,  or  that  better  repays  good  cultivation,  while  on 
poor  ground,  with  slovenly  culture,  it  does  not  yield  enough 
to  pay  the  expenses  incurred.  With  these  facts  before  us  it 


OATS.  401 

should  be  the  aim  of  every  farmer  to  emulate  with  each 
other  in  developing  the  capacity  of  the  land,  and  thus  will 
the  result  bring  its  own  reward. 

TIME    OF   SOWING. 

There  is  no  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  time  and 
manner  of  sowing.  Every  one  knows  that  spring  oats 
should  be  put  in  the  ground -as  soon  as  the  frosts  will  per- 
mit. If  the  weather  is  favorable,  in  the  latter  part  of 
January,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  practicable  the  land  should 
be  prepared  and  the  oats  sown.  The  soil  should  be  deeply 
broken  and  thoroughly  pulverized  and  the  oats  sown  broad- 
cast over  the  field,  and  then  either  harrowed  in  or  plowed 
in  with  a  cultivator.  If  the  seeds  are  plowed  in  with  a 
a  turning  plow  many  of  them  do  not  come  up,  or  if  they 
do  come  at  all,  they  are  too  weak  and  feeble  to  grow  off 
promptly.  A  bull-tongue  is  used  by  some,  and  while  this 
is  very  good  for  the  oats,  it  is  bad  for  the  farmer,  as  but 
little  progress  is  made  with  so  small  an  implement.  A 
double  shovel  or  a  walking  cultivator  is  the  best  plow,  pro- 
vided the  farmer  wishes  to  get  the  seed  in  deeper  than  a 
harrow  will  do  it.  But  a  shovel-  tooth  harrow  will  do  it 
quickly,  and,  I  think,  more  effectively  than  any  other  im- 
plement The  farmer  who  delays  sowing  his  "oats  until  the 
latter  part  of  March  or  in  April,  will  fail  to  reap  those  ad- 
vantages due  good  labor  Occasionally  a  farmer  does  sow 
late,  and  from  favorable  seasons  makes  a  good  crop,  and  this 
circumstance  will  injure  succeeding  crops  for  years,  as 
dilatory  men  will  refer  to  this  success  as  a  criterioti,  aud 
thus  excuse  their  habit  of  procrastination.  Some  may  plead 
the  effect  of  frost  on  an  early  crop.  This  is  futile,  for  al- 
though the  first  blades  may  be  destroyed  by  a  freeze,  it  does 
not  in  the  least  injure  the  crop,  as  oats  are  the  hardiest  crop 
grown  on  our  farms. 

While  the  general  opinion  is  in  favor  of  early  sowing, 
there  is  not  the  same  observance  in  the  quantity  of  seed  per 
26 


402  CEREALS. 

acre.     And,   right  here,   our   Tennessee   farmers  differ  so 
widely  from  the  Northern  farmer  that  it  is  difficult  to  de- 
termine a  just  means  of  observance.     In   all   the  Northern 
States  from  three  to  five  bushels  are  sown  to  the  acre,  while 
in  Tennessee  two  bushels  and  a  half  is  the  limit  of  quantity. 
The  man  in  Tennessee  who  sows  three  bushels  is  considered 
extravagant.     The  agent  of  the  State  farm  in  Massachu- 
setts laid  off  four  lots,  consisting  of   one  and  a  half  acres 
each,  to  establish  this  fact  of  quantity  of  seed  per  acre.     All 
lots  were  sown  broadcast  early  in  April,  equivalent  to  our 
February.     No.  1  received  five  bushels  per  acre;  No.  2  had 
four  bushels  per  acre;  No.  3  had  three  bushels  per  acre,  and 
No.  4  had  two  bushels  per  acre.     They  were  manured  with 
100  pounds  of  plaster  per  acre,  spread  broadcast,  except  a 
strip  of  one  acre  running  across  all  the  lots,  which  received 
no  plaster.     The  oats  were  cut  in  three  months  and  threshed 
about  two  months  afterwards.     No.   1   yielded  42  bushels: 
No.  2,  35    bushels;    No.    3,   40   bushels,  and   No.    4,   26J 
bushels.     The  acre  that  got  no  plaster  yielded  20 J  bushels. 
The  crop  was  small,  the  land  being  unfavorable  for  oats, 
and  the  season  bad.     Although  the  experiment  was  unsat- 
isfactory, yet  it  will  be  seen  that  the  lot  sown   with  three 
bushels  did  nearly  as  well  as  that  sown  with  five;  while  that 
receiving  two  bushels  fell  off  very  considerably.     But  in 
our  quick,  hearty  soil,  three  bushels   will  probably  be  the 
best  measure  to  sow,  though  a  less  quantity  will  often  make 
a  heavy  yield,  as  many  stalks  often  come  from  one  seed. 
J.  B.  McEwen,  Esq.,  of  Williamson  county,  brought  in  one 
stool  of  oats  this  spring,  (1878),  that   had  from  one  single 
seed  seventy-seven  separate  stems.     This,  of  course,  is  un- 
usual, but  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  culms  from  one  seed. 

In  the  colder  climates  of  the  North,  oats  will  mature 
much  earlier  than  in  Tennessee.  This  is  due  to  the  short 
summers,  there  vegetation  seeming  to  be  aware  of  the 
necessity  of  escaping  the  destructive  effects  of  frost.  Oats 


OATS.  403 

there  will  be  ready  for  the  sickle  generally  in  ninety  days, 
while  here  it  requires,  if  sown  early,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  days.  It  is  true,  late  sown  oats  will  hurry  up  to 
escape  the  heat,  as  Northern  oats  do  to  escape  the  cold. 
Thus,  oats  sown  in  the  middle  or  last  of  April,  will  be  ready 
for  the  harvest  as  soon  as  those  sown  in  February,  but  the 
early  oats  will  weigh  more  to  the  bushel  and  will  yield  far 
more  to  the  acre.  Oats  should  be  cut  early  or  late,  as  the 
crop  may  be  desired  for  food  or  seed.  If  for  the  latter,  they 
should  be  allowed  to  fully  ripen,  but  if  it  is  the  inten- 
tion to  feed  to  stock,  the  oats  should  be  cut  as  soon  the 
stem  begins  to  turn  yellow  just  below  the  head,  and  while 
the  foliage  is  yet  green.  At  this  time  the  grain  is  in  the 
dough  state,  and  the  stalk  and  leaves  are  yet  full  of  saccha- 
rine matters,  and  in  "this  condition  the  straw  will  make  ex- 
cellent hay,  far  superior  to  corn  fodder,  and  but  little  in- 
ferior to  the  best  English  hay,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
analyses  here  appended.  Another  reason  is  that  in  harvest- 
ing, if  the  grain  becomes  fully  matured,  much  of  it  will  be 
lost  by  shattering  in  the  many  handlings  it  must  receive 
before  finally  garnered. 

The  manner  of  cutting  is  either  by  reapers  or  by  cradles. 
This  is  a  matter  of  taste  or  convenience  to  "the  farmer,  and 
is  of  little  consequence.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
all  the  juices  remaining  in  the  stem  are  of  a  soluble  nature, 
and  the  stem,  after  drying,  is  very  porous,  so  that  if  al- 
lowed to  get  wet  the  nutritive  qualities  are  washed  out.  So 
then,  in  view  of  this  fact,  great  care  must  be  observed  in 
properly  shocking.  Some  bundles  are,  of  course,  exposed 
to  the  weather,  but  let  there  be  as  few  as  possible.  The 
best  manner  is  to  make  hand  stacks,  sloping  the  bundles  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  shed  the  rain  from  the  heads  to  the 
stubs.  Each  stack  contains  about  one  hundred  bundles 
and  tapers  to  a  point,  which  is  neatly  capped,  and  the  cap 
tied.  In  this  way  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  straw  will 
get  wet,  and  none  of  the  grain  heads.  As  soon  as  the  oats 


404  CEREALS. 

are  properly  cured,  say  in  a  week  of  sunny  weather,  they 
will  be  ready  to  house,  and  no  delay  should  take  place  in 
this.  But  there  are  many  small  farmers  and  improvident 
ones  who  have  no  shelter,  consequently  they  must  resort  to 
stacks.  It  is  not  every  man  who  can  stack  oats  so  as  to 
preserve  them  from  the  weather.  If  carelessly  done  the 
oats  will  be  a  total  loss.  If  properly  done  they  will  keep 
an  indefinite  length  of  time.  Attention  to  the  following 
necessity  is  all  that  is  required  to  make  a  good  stack,  viz: 
Keep  the  heads  oj  the  bundles  higher  than  the  butts.  This  is 
easily  done  if  the  stacker  will  only  bear  it  constantly  in 
mind  to  elevate  the  heads.  This  can  be  easily  done  by  oc- 
casionally laying  a  bundle  under  the  upper  head.  At  the 
same  time  be  careful  not  to  give  it  so  much  pitch  that  the 
superincumbent  pressure  will  force  out  the  bundles  and  let 
the  stack  tumble 

In  the  countries  where  oats  form  a  large  part  of  the 
regular  crops,  it  is  the  universal  practice  to  thresh  the  oats 
before  feeding  them,  and  then  feed  by  measurement.  In 
the  South  however  we  have  adopted  the  very  slovenly  and 
wasteful  habit  of  feeding  in  the  bundles.  It  is  true  some 
are  careful  enough  to  pass  the  bundles  through  a  straw 
cutter,  but  the  largest  number  will  simply  throw  a  bundle 
loosely  in  the  manger  or  rack. 

If  the  bundles  are  cut  up  finely  they  will  be  eaten,  straw 
and  all;  and  this  is  a  good  plan,  for  the  seeds  are  in  this 
way  dispersed  all  through  the  straw,  and  the  horse,  in 
seeking  the  grain,  is  perforce  obliged  to  take  all.  Our 
more  careful  neighbors  however  will  cut  the  straw,  mixed 
with  a  modicum  of  good  hay  or  bran,  and  then  pour  the 
grain,  either  whole  or  crushed,  over  the  mass  and  their 
horses  are  kept  in  the  best  order  without  the  use  of  corn,  or 
at  least  with  a  very  small  quantity  of  corn,  beans  or 
peas. 

Some  farmers  pass  oats  and  barley  through  the  thresher 
together,  and  the  grain  mixed  is  a  very  excellent  stock 


OATS.  405 

food.  It  brightens  the  hair,  promotes  digestion  and  gives 
a  horse  good  health  under  heavy  tasks.  For  many  years  it 
was  the  habit  of  farmers  to  only  thresh  out  oats  enough  to 
serve  as  seed,  and  they  looked  at  the  resulting  straw  as 
waste,  most  of  it  going  to  the  stables  as  bedding,  or  left  to 
rot  where  threshed.  We  give  below  an  analysis  of  the 
straw  as  well  as  of  the  grain  to  show  the  loss  they  have 
sustained. 

Oats,  both  green  and  matured,  form  a  most  excellent 
food  for  hogs.  Nothing  will  start  hogs  to  fatten  more 
kindly  than  to  be  turned  on  an  oat  field  when  the  oats  are 
half  grown.  In  a  few  days  they  will  begin  to  look  smooth, 
the  hair  gets  sleek  and  by  the  time  they  have  been  on  it 
two  or  three  weeks  they  are  almost  fat.  If  a  large  apple 
or  peach  orchard  is  on  the  farm  it  will  be  a  good  plan  to 
sow  it  in  oats,  and  as  the  young  apples  or  peaches  begin  to 
fall  they,  as  well  as  the  oats,  are  devoured  by  the  swine,  and 
thus,  not  only  are  the  animals  benefited  but  the  eggs  of 
insects  that  are  in  the  fallen  fruit  are  destroyed.  In  this 
way  in  a  few  years  the  curculio  may  be  entirely  eradicated 
from  the  orchards,  as  well  as  the  borer  and  other  insects 
injurious  to  the  trees. 

We  give,  first,  an  analysis  of  the  grain  and  then  of  the 
straw. 

Oats  contain,  starch,  60.54;  gluten  and  other  azotized 
matters,  14.39;  dextrine,  glucose,  etc.,  9.25;  fatty  matters, 
5.50;  cellulose,  7.06;  mineral  matters,  3.25:  or,  econom- 
ically, 

Flesh  forming  principles, 1 8.447 

Heat  producing  principles, 73.376 

Fat  producing  principles, 8.178 

Wolff  and  Knopps  analysis  may  be  seen  on  page  336, 
(under  buckwheat). 

According  to  the  estimates  of  Meyer,  based  upon  actual 
experiments  in  feeding,  one  hundred  and  fifty  Ibs.  of  oat 


406  CEREALS. 

straw  are  equivalent  to  100  Ibs.  of  good  English  hay,  or 
65  Ibs.  of  the  grain  of  barley,  or  60  Ibs.  oats,  58  Ibs.  rye, 
or  55  Ibs.  of  wheat;  and  Thaer  places  the  estimate  still 
greater. 

Bouissingault  gives,  for  the  green  oat  straw,  water,  82.0; 
starch,  5.0;  woody  fibre,  7.5;  sugar,  3.5;  albumen,  1.0; 
fatty  matter,  0,5;  and  mineral  matter,  0.5. 

It  has  been  remarked  before,  that  but  little  of  this  crop 
is  ever  exported.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  year  1851, 
679J812  bushels  of  oats  were  imported,  and  also  302,400 
bushels  of  oatmeal.  In  1858,  this  amount  had  decreased 
to  115  bushels  oats,  and  106,288  bushels  oatmeal. 

In  the  year  1875,  there  were  exported  504,770  bushels 
oats;  and  in  1876,  1,466,228  bushels.  This  however  forms 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  crop,  for  in  1876  there  were 
raised  in  the  United  States,  320,884,000  bushels. 

In  1876,  there  were  raised  in  the  State  of  Tennessee, 
5,400,000  hushels  on  306,818  acres,  averaging  17.6  bushels 
per  acre,  and  the  average  price  was  39  cents,  making  the 
value  of  the  crop  $2,106,000. 

I  have  not  deemed  it  necessary  to  speak  of  the  Barbary 
oat,  which  is  a  two  awned  oat,  growing  on  the  deserts  of 
Asia  and  Africa.  The  long  twisted  awns  or  beards  are  so 
sensitive  to  moisture,  that  they  will  work  like  an  insect 
under  the  influence  of  the  weather,  forming  a  poor  hy- 
grometer. They  were  once  sold  as  barometers  all  over  the 
country,  the  awns  being  affixed  to  a  index. 

i " 

RICE. — (Oryza  sativa.) 

This  grass  has  a  long  panicle,  resembling,  when  ripe  oats,  the  seed 
growing  from  a  short  pedicel  starting  from  a  central  stalk.  Each  ker- 
nal  has  an  awn,  glumes  yellow.  The  stem  is  short,  pointed,  hollow 
and  about  three  feet  high.  It  is  an  annual. 

Rice  is  a  native  of  Asia,  but  was  brought  from  the 
Island  of  Madagascar  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and 
was  first  grown  by  Landgrave  Smith  in  that  city.  The  white 


RICE. 


407 


rice  was  first  introduced,  but  afterwards  the  golden  seed 
superseded  it,  and  that  is  now  universally  grown  both  in 
the  swamps  and  uplands  of  the  South,  and  is  the  same  as 
that  grown  in  China  and  Asia.  It  is  used  as  human  food 
by  more  people  than  any  other  cereal,  feeding  it  is  said,  to 
the  exclusion  of  other  cereals,  over  half  the  inhabitants.  It 
is  really  a  water  plant,  and  thrives  best  when  supplied  with 
an  abundance  of  it.  In  fact,  to  be  grown  in  its  best  style 
it.  is  flooded  the  greater  part  of  the  time  by  means  of  banks, 
levees  and  flood-gates.  It  may  be  assumed  than  it  has  no 
place  in  a  Tennessee  work,  but  there  are  several  varieties  of 
rice,  and  we  all  remember,  in  the  days  of  slavery,  that 
many  negroes  owned  little  rice  patches,  where  they  were 
accustomed  to  grow  rice  and  beat  it  out  in  a  hominy 
mortar  and  hawk  in  the  country. 

There  is  an  upland  or  mountain  rice  which  grows  well 
on  any  rich  soil,  especially,  however,  if  it  is  a  marshy  bot- 
tom. I  once  sowed  rice  in  a  seed  millet  patch,  having  only 
a  few  grains,  and  it  grew  very  well  and  made  a  fair  yield. 
I  have  seen  it  yield  well  in  Stewart  County.  It  was 
tor  many  years  grown  there  by  a  South  Carolinian.  All 
the  upland  counties  of  North  Alabama,  Georgia  and 
Mississippi  raise  enough  for  home  consumption.  It  is 
raised  in  the  germinating  gardens  in  Washington  for  dis- 
tribution. 

Its  method  of  culture  is  just  as  seed  millet  is  raised.  It 
matures  about  the  same  time,  and  should  be  cut  with  the 
sickle  just  as  the  millet  is.  Let  it  be  bound  in  bundles 
and  stacked.  After  a  week  or  two  it  will  go  through  the 
stack  sweat  and  be  ready  for  cleaning.  The  husk  adheres 
very  closely  to  the  grain,  is  very  tough  and  difficult  to 
separate.  On  a  regular  rice  plantation  this  :s  done  by  large 
stones,  but  here,  in  small  quantities,  it  must  be  done  by 
using  warm  water  and  the  hominy  mortar.  It  is  a  tedious 
process,  but  like  all  other  processes  it  can  easily  be  learned 
by  application.  It  would  not  pay  to  raise  rice  in  large  quanti- 


408  CEREALS. 

ties,  but  nothing  is  like  having  a  supply  of  all  the  good 
things  of  life  on  hand,  raised  on  your  own  farm.  We  have 
become  independent  of  the  South,  so  far  as  molasses  is 
concerned,  let  us  now  raise  a  home  supply  of  rice,  and 
then,  with  all  the  luxuries,  as  well  as  the  necessities  of  life? 
the  farmer  can  snap  his  fingers  at  dull  care  and  hard  times. 
From  25  to  40  bushels  of  rough  rice  can  be  raised  on  an 
acre,  and  this  will  shell  out  enough  to  last  a  long  time. 

A  comparative  analysis  with  other  grains  will  be  found 
on  page  336.  It  is  by  no  means  equal  to  wheat  in  its  nu- 
tritive qualities,  containing  more  starch  but  fewer  nitrogen- 
ous substances. 

BYE — (Secale  cereak). 

Has  long  bearded  ears,  and  a  tall  and  very  slender  stem.  The  glumes 
are  toothed  on  the  edges,  has  a  terminal  spike,  solitary,  erect,  from  two 
to  four  inches  long,  with  beards  four  or  five  times  the  length  of  glumes. 
Root  fibrous,  and  annual. 

There  are  two  varieties  cultivated  in  Tennessee,  besides 
many  others  with  local  names.  These  two  are  named  from 
their  habits,  one  being  winter  rye,  the  other  spring  rye,  but 
the  former  is  almost  exclusively  used. 

.Rye  will  grow  in  a  colder  climate  than  wheat  or  barley, 
and  on  poorer  soil.  On  the  poorest  sandy  soils  in  the 
State,  it  will  do  quite  well.  It  will  grow  on  the  Cumber- 
land and  Unaka  mountains  six  to  eight  feet  high.  Sown 
in  almost  any  month  of  the  year  it  will  make  a  crop.  Its 
principal  use  in  Tennessee  is  for  pastures,  though  some  use 
is  made  of  the  grain  as  meal,  as  well  as  for  stock  food. 
From  the  fact  that  the  seeds  are  rarely  saved,  the  price  is? 
in  Tennessee,  quite  high,  as  compared  with  that  of  other 
grains,  the  range  of  value  for  several  years  being  as  great 
as  wheat. 

Among  the  cereals,  rye  is  cultivated,  in  Tennessee,  least ; 
but  in  some  of  the  States,  it  is  extensively  raised  as  a 
distilling  grain.  It  is  extensively  used  in  making  beer? 


409 

and  rye  whiskey  is  famous  as  a  beverage 
the  world  over.  The  famous  "Hollands" 
(gin)  is  made  from  rye,  flavored  with  juniper 
berries. 

Sown  early  in  the  fall,  and  even  in  August, 
it  affords  a  fine  nutritious  pasturage  through 
the  next  seven  or  eight  months,  or,  until  it 
begins  to  "  spindle "  up,  when  it  becomes 
woody,  loses  its  succulent  character,  and  is 
not  relished  by  stock.  In  some  countries  it  is 
sown  with  wheat,  and  ground  into  a  meal  that 
is  particularly  'fine  and  nourishing,  and  is 
called  meslin.  It  is  famous  as  a  healthy  bread, 
suitable  for  the  sick.  Rye  meal  makes  break- 
fast cakes,  equal  to  the  best  buckwheat,  and 
not  easily  detected  from  it.  It  is  used  quite 
extensively  among  the  poorer  classes  for 
making  coffee,  and  by  dealers  as  an  adul- 
terant for  ground  coffee. 
During  rainy  wet  seasons,  a  fungous  growth  makes  its 
appearance  in  the  grains,  causing  them  to  be  elongated  and 
twisted,  forming  "Spurred  rye"  or  Ergot.  Men  or  animals 
partaking  ol  this  diseased  grain  become  poisoned,  and  the 
most  fatal  symptoms  ensue,  the  extremities  becoming  gan- 
grenous and,  if  continued  in,  will  finally  result  in  death. 
Still  this  ergot  is  one  of  our  most  precious  medicines  and 
would  be  badly  missed. 

The  yield  of  rye  is  seldom  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty 
bushels  to  the  acre,  though,  like  all  cereals,  it  is  greatly 
benefited  by  manure.  The  best  manure  is  bone  dust  or 
phosphate  of  lime,  the  phosphates  entering  largely  into  its 
composition.  The  quantity  to  be  sown  to  the  acre  is  a 
bushel  or  a  bushel  and  a  half,  either  for  seed  or  pasturage. 
It  is  sown,  as  other  cereals,  on  well  prepared  land,  though 
if  only  wanted  for  pasture,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  sow  it 
broadcast  over  corn  land  just  before  the  corn  is  laid  by,  and 


410  CEREALS. 

then  plowed  in  with  the  last  plowing.  By  the  time  the 
corn  is  gathered,  there  will  be  as  rich  a  pasture  as  may  be 
desired. 

Rye  has  been  exported  but  little,  the  home  consumption 
being  about  equal  to  its  production.  It  forms  an  important 
article  of  diet  in  Europe  and  Asia,  being  mixed  with  both 
wheat  and  barley  to  make  cheap  bread.  It  is  supposed  to 
be  a  native  of  Oandia,  and  some  say  of  Sicily,  as  it  grows 
wild  on  both  of  these  islands.  But  it  is  more  probable  it  hud 
its  origin,  with  other  cereals,  on  the  slopes  of  the  Himalaya 
mountains  in  Asia.  It  was  introduced  into  Europe  after 
the  15th  century,  and  was  brought  to  America  at  the 'same 
time  with  the  other  grains.  Its  straw  is  almost  worthless 
as  a  fodder,  stock  not  relishing  it  at  all ;  but  it  is  exten- 
sively used  in  the  manufactures,  as  hats,  bonnets,  mats, 
paper,  slippers,  and  a  great  variety  of  other  articles  are 
made  from  it. 

In  1840,  the  product  of  the  United  States  was  18,645,567 
bushels,  and  in  1850,  it  was  14,188,813  bushels;  in  1860, 
21,101,380  bushels;  in  1870,  16,918,795  bushels. 

In  1876,  there  were  355,000  bushels  raised  in  Tennessee, 
on  39,444  acres  of  land,  being  an  average  of  9  bushels  per 
acre,  and  the  average  price  that  year  was  92  cents  per 
bushel.  In  the  United  States  the  same  year,  there  were 
20,374,800  bushels,  thus  giving  an  increase,  in  thirty-six 
years,  of  less  than  two  million  bushels,  although  the  culti- 
vated area  of  the  United  States  has  almost  doubled,  if  not 
quite.  This  deficiency  may  be  attributed  to  the  falling  off 
in  the  demand  for  distilling  purposes.  Although  so  little 
rye  is  exported,  a  considerable  quantity  of  rye  meal  is  taken 
to  Europe. 

See  comparative  analysis,  on  page  336,  (under  Buck- 
wheat) . 


LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS.  411 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS. 


VII. 


The  introduced  clovers,  vetches  and  other  vines  of  modern  agriculture 
have  already  been  fully  considered,  botanically  and  economically. 

The  connection  of  this  family  of  phoenogamous plants  with  the  econ- 
omy of  agricultural  nations,  is  coeval  with  the  culture  of  the  cereals. 
Besides  the  frequent  mention  made  of  them  in  the  remotest  periods  of 
Biblical  literature,  we  also  know  from  Papyrus  rolls  and  stone  engrav- 
ings of  ancient  Egypt,  several  facts  relating  to  them.  Lentils,  (Ervum 
Lens,)  has  been  there  a  favorite  dish  with  the  people,  and  remained  so  to 
the  present  day.  On  Sculptures  servants  are  represented  carrying  bas- 
kets filled  with  Indigo,  being  either  tribute  or  precious  merchandise, 
which  came  from  India.  Carobs,  or  St.  John's  bread,  furnished  an  im- 
portant food  supply,  not  only  in  Egypt,  but  also  in  Syria  and  Palestine. 
The  name  Carat  is  derived  from  the  Carob  seeds,  serving  a  standard 
weight,  equal  to  about  20  grains  of  wheat,  one  grain  of  which  was  the 
gmallest  standard  weight  then  in  use  for  weighing  gold  and  precious 
stones.  Carobs  are  the  fruit  of  a  tree  (Ceratonia  Siliqua,)  much  re- 
sembling our  honey  locust. 

Beans  (Faba  vulgaris)  and  the  Chick  pea  (Cicer  Arietinuin)  were  large- 
ly consumed  by  the  lower  classes.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  avoidance 
of  Beans,  practiced  by  the  priest^  and  so  strictly  forbidden  by  Pythag- 
oras to  his  disciples,  applies  to  the  leguminous  species  or  the  seeds  of 
Nelumbium  speciosuni,  the  Water  Lily,  which  then  grew  abundantly 


412  LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS. 

in  the  waters  of  the  Nile.  Nor  could  the  Egyptian  do  without  his  hom- 
iny, using  Lupines,  (Lupinus  Thermis)  soaked  in  salt  water,  like  we 
do  Indian  corn. 

The  honey  of  Hymettus,  famous  for  its  flavor,  owes  its  fame  in 
part  to  the  rich  fields  of  clover,  that  abounded  hi  the  pastures  of  ancient 
Hellas  and  brought  from  there  to  Italy,  it  found  gradually  its  way 
across  the  Alps.  Following  the  train  of  civilization  it  has  long  since 
departed  from  the  parched  shores  of  Salamis  and  the  depauperated 
fields  of  Argos,  once  the  feeder  of  horses 

All  the  cultivated  species  are  indigenous  to  the  Mediterranean  region. 
The  Peanut,  however,  (Arachis  hypogcea),  as  palatable  to  our  taste, 
as  its  herbage  to  cattle,  is  a  denizen  of  two  continents,  for  it  is  indigen- 
ous on  the  Senegal  and  in  the  West  India  islands.  In  the  warmer 
climates,  under  favorable  circumstances  for  ripening,  like  in  India,  this 
nut  is  very  rich  in  a  fine  oil  which  is  used  there  like  olive  oil,  and  is 
said  to  be  even  superior.  It  keeps  a  long  time  without  becoming  ran- 
cid. In  its  more  Northern  range  it  produces  less  oil.  An  occasion  to 
say  more  about  this  curious  plant  will  recur  in  the  botanical  description 
of  the  Leguminosae. 

A  related  genus,  the  Voandzeia  subterranea,  or  Bambarra  ground 
nut,  of  similar  habits  and  like  value  with  the  former,  is  not  known  in 
the  United  States,  a  native  of  the  Western  coast  of  Africa,  and  its  cul- 
tivation is  confined  to  tropical  countries. 

Very  little  knowledge  of  useful  leguminous  plants  has  descended  to 
us  from  the  native  Indian.  The  scarcity  of  bread-giving  cereals  on  one 
hand  and  the  absence  on  the  Northern  continent  of  those  larger  animals 
which  are  fit  for  domestication,  have  rescinded  his  disposition  to  cling 
to  a  homestead  as  tiller  of  the  soil ;  nor  could  he  follow  his  flocks  as  a 
wande-ing  and  peaceable  nomade.  The  abundance  of  nutritious  her- 
baceous food  favoring  the  multiplication  and  variation  of  the  less  fero- 
cious herbivores,  enabled  man  to  gain  ascendency  and  to  initiate  the  most 
primitive  government  over  submissive,  social  animals.  For  these  rea- 
sons have  the  Mediterranean  regions  and  Central  Asia  become  the  birth- 
place of  civilization,  while  the  North  American  continent  continued  to 
be  the  hunting  domain  of  the  roving  Indian.  The  mild  and  benign 
manner  of  the  sheperd  and  herdsman  to  notice  the  wants  of  the  flocks^ 
to  distinguish  the  kinds  of  food  which  they  would  prefer,  and  to  lead 


LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS.  413 

them  in  regions  of  plenty,  has  no  parallel  in  the  atrocious  character  of 
the  Indian,  whose  only  interference  with  the  state  of  nature  consisted 
in  setting  fire  to  woods  and  prairies,  to  promote  the  growth  of  herbace- 
ous plants  and  thin  the  undergrowth  to  facilitate  the  chase.  The  deli- 
cious fruits  of  the  warmer  regions  of  the  Eastern  continent  are  not  met 
with  here,  or  represented  by  less  palatable  kinds  and  this  defect  may 
have  produced  the  unrefined  taste  of  the  Indian.  Capable  of  satiating 
his  hunger  with  a  mixture  of  clay  and  gum,  like  the  Ottomaks  of  the 
Amazon  or  with  tuckahoe,  a  species  of  ligneous  fungus,  resorted  to  in 
times  of  dearths  by  the  Cherokeesand  other  nations,  he  remained  content- 
ed vrith  the  natural  and  unimproved  offerings  of  his  native  land,  and 
attempted  to  cultivate  but  few  kinds  of  those — Indian  corn  beans  and 
tobacco.  These  Indian  beans  are  several  species  of  phaseolus,  growing 
spontaneously  in  all  portions  of  the  country.  Prairie  and  forest  sup- 
plied him  with  several  other  leguminous  plants. 

The  Screw  bean,  {Strombocarpus  pubescens,}  the  dry  and  ripe 
fruit  of  which  is  considered  a  delicious  nutriment  by  the  Indians,  grows 
along  the  Colorado  river  of  Arizona,  and  the  Utahs  use  it  by  mak- 
ing bread  from  the  meal  of  the  seeds.  All  kinds  of  animals  are  fond 
of  the  pods,  and  fatten  rapidly  upon  them.  Of  no  less  importance  are 
the  fruits  of  the  Mesquite  (Algarobia  glandulosa).  The  pods  being 
7-9  inches  long,  are  not  only  nutritious,  but  also  very  agreeable,  from 
the  combination  of  a  sweet  and  acid  taste,  and  are  a  preventive  of  thirst. 

The  Pommede  prairie  is  the  esculent  root  of  the  Proiralea  esculenta, 
growing  in  the  Northwestern  territory,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  It 
is  generally  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg,  of  regular  ovoid  shape,  and  the  corti- 
cal part  or  skin  separates  as  readily  as  in  a  turnip.  It  has  a  sweet  and 
turnip-like  taste.  The  Indians  of  these  regions  like  it  very  much,  and 
use  it  extensively  in  the  ripe  state.  Sliced  and  dried  they  store  it  for 
winter  use. 

A  rare  species  of  this  genus,  the  Psoralea  subacaulis,  grows  abund- 
antly upon  the  rocky  hills  and  wastes  around  Nashville.  Its  short  flow- 
er-stem terminates  a  few  inches  below  the  surface  in  a  good  sized  tu- 
berous root,  firmly  imbedded  between  the  densely  packed  gravel  and 
rocks  This  tuber  is  soft  and  pleasantly  sweet,  although  growing  on 
the  poorest  ground,  and  retains  those  qualities  to  an  advanced  flowering 


LEGUMINOUS    PLANTS. 

sta1e.  This  root  has  been  probably  never  before  observed,  and  should 
be  tried  under  cultivation 

Farmers  know  very  well  that  wild  and  uncultivated  lands,  mountains 
and  river  banks  produce  a  variety  of  pea-vines  which  are  especially 
sought  after  by  stock,  roaming  through  the  thickets.  It  has  also  been 
very  generally  noticed,  that  with  the  clearing  of  the  land,  the  multiplica- 
tion of  cattle,  and  the  spread  of  the  root-  destroying  hog,  the  former 
abundance  of  this  kind  of  forage,  that  formerly  held  out  in  many  re- 
gions during  the  whole  winter,  has  gradually  grown  less.  Why  this 
large  increase  of  the  herbiverous  domestic  animals  exerts  such  a  dele- 
terious influence  upon  their  number  and  thins  the  rank  of  their  species 
woefully,  in  locations  much  exposed  to  their  invasions,  is  readily 
understood  from  an  observation  of  their  growth  and  structure. 

Shrubby  and  arborescent  species,  worthy  of  consideration  in  the  pres- 
ent sense,  occur  only  in  the  lower  Sbnth  and  Southeast  and  all  our  val- 
uable kinds  are  herbaceous  plants.  Some  being  closely  appressed  to 
the  soil,  others  creep  over  it  in  wide-spread  tangles,  some  arc  partly  de- 
cumbent, few  strictly  erect,  many  are  trailing  and  climbing  Succulent 
herbs  with  a  large  surface  from  the  development  of  numerous  branches 
and  copious  foliage,  they  dislike  exposure  to  the  wind  and  prefer  shel- 
tered situations  in  forest  and  thicket ;  only  the  creeping  varieties  like 
full  exposure  on  the  open  prairie.  Stout  stemmed  and  smooth  Baptisias 
make  an  exception. 

The  wiry  and  stringy  rootlets  of  grasses  are  securely  protected 
against  the  tread  of  heavy  animals  by  an  elastic  cushion  of  tuft  or  sod, 
but  the  single  and  scattered  growing  pea  vines  and  their  congeners 
possess  neither  this  benefit  nor  their  slender  form  and  elastic  structure, 
and  are  under  a  still  greater  disadvantage  from  their  cumbersome  struc- 
ture, entangling  the  feet  of  the  animals,  and  suffering  more  from 
tramping  and  crushing  than  browsing.  Grasses  generally  live  longer  as 
the  herbaceous  leguminosse  and  grass  seeds  frequently  escape  destruction 
by  digestion  but  not  so  the  latter. 

The  economical  value  of  these  herbs  depends  as  much  on  their  abun- 
ance  as  upon  nutritions  qualities,  and  it  is  evident  that  we  ought  to  pre- 
vent their  decrease,  or  even  extinction,  by  trying  their  cultivation,  in 
collecting  their  seeds  and  sowing  them  either  separately  or  in  mixture  in 


LEGUMINOUS    PLANTS.  415 

well  prepared  land.  Otherwise  those  weeds  which  everywhere  follow 
in  the  footsteps  of  the  settler,  will  soon  take  their  place,  multiplying 
with  a  prodigious  rapidity.  The  Canada  and  Common  thistle,  Amar- 
anths, Door- weeds,  Knot-grass,  Rag  and  May  weeds  and  Thorn  apples 
threaten  to  become  the  victors  in  the  battle  for  existence. 

List  of  leguminous  plants  known  to  grow  spontaneously  in  Tentfessee : 

Crotalaria  sagittalis.  L.      Rattlebox,  annual      July   September. 

Lupinus  perennis,  L.     Lupine,  perennial.     April,  May. 

Mt'Mlotus  alba,  Lam.     Sweet  clover.     Perennial.      May,  June. 

Trifolium  pratense,  L      Red  clover.     Perennial.     May. 

Trifolium  arvense,  L.     Rabbit-foot  clover.     Annual.     May. 

Trifolium  refiexum,  L      Buffalo  clover.     Biennial.     May. 

Trifolium  repens,  L.     White  clover.     Perennial.     May. 

Trifolium  Carolinianum,  Michx.     Carolina  clover.     Perennial. 

Medicago   lupulina,  L.     Black  Medic.     Annual.     May. 

Psoralea  mclilotoides,  L.     Psoralea,  perennial.     June. 

Psori76i  subaewili*,  Torr  &  Gray.     Perennial.     April. 

Petalostemon  foliosus,  Gray.  Leafy  prairie  clover.  Perennial. 
May,  June. 

Petalostemon  decumbens,  Gray.  Low  prairie  clover.  Perennial. 
May,  June. 

Petalostemon  corymbosus,  Michx,  Silky  prairie  clover.  Perennial. 
June,  July, 

Amorpha  fruticosa,  L.     Lead  plant.     June 

Itobinia  pseudacacia,  L.     Common  locust.     May. 

Robinia  viscosa,  Vent.     Clammy  locust,  shrub.  .  May 

Robinia  hispida,    L.     Rose  acacea.     Shrub      May. 

Wistaria  frutescens,  D.  C.     Wistaria  climbing  shrub.     May. 

Tephrosia  spicata,  Torr  &  Gray.     June,  July. 

Astragalus  Tennexsiensis,  Gray.  Tennessee  milk  vetch.  Peren- 
nial. April. 

Astragalus  Canadensis,  L.  Canada  milk  vetch .  Perennial  June. 
Vicia  m  Grant  ha,  Nutt.  Small  flowered  vetch.  Biennial.  March. 

ViOii  Carolina,  Walt.     Carolina  vetch.  Biennial.     April. 

Vicia  Americana,  Gray.     American  vetch      Perennial.     April. 

Stylosanthes  elatior,  Swartz.  Pencil  flower.  Perennial.  June, 
August. 

Lespedeza  repent.  Torr  &  Gray.  Creeping  bash  clover.  Peren- 
nial. June,  September. 

Lespedeza  violacea,  Pers.  Bush  clover.  Perennial.  June,  August, 
Lespedeza  Stnvei,  Nutt  Downy  bush  clover.  Perennial.  August. 


416  LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS. 

Lespedeza  hirta,  Ell.  Hairy  bush  clover.  Perennial.  August, 
September. 

Lespedeza  eapitata,  Micbx.  Round  beaded  busb  clover.  Peren- 
nial. August,  September. 

Desmodium  pauciflorum,  Nutt.  Few-flowered  tick-trefoil.  Pe- 
rennial. July,  September. 

Desmodium  acuminatum,  D.  C.  Pointed  tick-trefoil.  Perennial. 
July,  September. 

Desmodium  fiudiflorum,  D.  C.  Crowded- leaved  tick-trefoil.  Pe- 
rennial. July.  September. 

Desmodium  euspidatum,  Torr  &,  Gray.  Sharp  pointed  tick-trefoil. 
July,  September. 

Desmodium,  rotundifolium,  D.  C.  Round  leaved  tick-trefoil.  Pe- 
rennial. July,  September. 

Desmodium,  Canadense,  D.  0.  Canadian  tick-trefoil.  Perennial. 
July,  August. 

Desmodium  Dilleniia  Darl.  Dillens  tick-trefoil.  Perennial.  Sep- 
tember, October. 

Desmodium  paniculatum,  D.  C.  Smooth  tick-trefoil.  Perennial. 
September. 

Desmodium  strictum,  D.  C.     Stiff  tick-trefoil. 

Apios  tuberosa,  Mrench.     Ground  nut.     Perennial    July,  October. 

Phaseolus-perennis,  Walt.  Perennial.  Kidney  bean.  July,  Oc- 
tober. 

Phaseolus  diver  sifolius,  Pers.       Creeping  kidney  bean.      Biennal. 

July. 

Phaseolus  helvolus,  L.  Long-stalked  kidney  bean.  Annual.  June, 
September. 

Clitoria  Mariana,  L.  Maryland  butter  fly  pea.  Perennial.  June, 
October. 

Amphiearpcea  monoica,  Nutt.  Hog-nut  pea.  Perennial.  July, 
September. 

Galactia  mollis,  Michx.     Milk  pea.     Perennial.     July,  August. 

Galactia  glabella,  Michx.  Small  milk  pea.  Perennial.  Tune, 
September. 

Baptisia  tinctoria,  R   Brown.      Wild  Indigo.     Perennial.     June, 

July. 

Baptisia  alba,  R.  Brown.  WMte  flowered  white  indigo.  Peren- 
nial. July.  August. 

Baptisia  leucantha  Torr  &  Gray.  Smooth  wild  indigo.  Peren- 
nial. July,  August. 

Baptisia  australis,  R.  Brown  Blue-flowered  wild  indigo.  Peren- 
nial. July. 


LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS.  417 

Thermopsis  mollis,  R.  Brown.  Soft-leaved  Thermopsis.  Peren- 
nial. June, 'July. 

Cladrastis  tinctoria,  Raf.     Yellow  wood.    Tree.     May. 

Cercis  Canadensis,  L.     Red-bud.    Small  tree.    March. 

Cassia  Marilandica,  L.     American  senna.     Annual.     July. 

Cassia  obtusifolia,  wild  senna.     Annual.     July. 

Cassia  Chamcecrista,  L.     Partridge  pea.     Annual.     July,  August. 

Cassia  nictitans,  L.     Sensitive  plant.     Annual.     July,  Angust. 

Gleditschia  triacanthos,  L.      Honey-locust,  tree. 

Gleditschia  monospermm,  Walt.  Swamp  honey-locust,  small  tree. 
May. 

Gymnocladus  Canadensis,  Lam.     Kentucky  Coffee  tree.     May. 

Acacia  Julibrissim.     Acacia,  tree.     May. 

Demanthus  brachylobus,  R.  Brown.  American  Mimosa  Peren- 
nial. June,  July. 

Schrankia  uncinata,  Wild.  Sensitive  bria'-.  Perennial.  June, 
August. 

Schrankia  angustata,  Torr  &  Gray.  Narrow  leaved  sensitive  brier. 
Perennial.  July. 

Continued  botanical  research  will  unquestionably  add  a  good  many 
more  species  to  this, list. 
27 


418  LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

SHORT   MENTION   OF   LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS. 

The  botanical  wealth  of  this  State,  so  far  as  we  can  presently  form 
an  opinion,  is  likely  to  be  greater  than  that  of  the  Atlantic  States, 
notwithstanding  the  absence  of  the  littoral  flora.  A.  thorough  search 
over  the  northwestern  portions  of  the  State,  along  the  upper  course 
of  the  Holston  and  French  Broad  rivers,  would  almost  necessarily  bring 
forth  the  whole  array  of  forms  peculiar  to  Western  Virginia,  Penn- 
sylvania and  Eastern  Kentucky,  and  the  high  summits  of  the  Unaka 
Mountains,  extending  over  200  miles  in  length,  are  crowned  with  those 
alpine  beauties,  memorials  of  the  glacial  period  whose  aspect  and  pos- 
session is  so  enchanting  to  the. botanist. 

The  depressed  limestone  area  of  Middle  Tennessee  is  a  well  defined 
region  in  strikingly  peculiar  effect  of  landscape,  from  the  conformation 
of  surface  and  character  of  vegetation.  Between  undulating  productive 
lands  stretch,  rugged  cliffs,  not  cultivable  glades,  where  the  cavern- 
ous and  much  fissured  rocks  lies  either  bare,  or  meagerly  soil -covered. 
The  cedar,  with  its  wide-spreading  roots  and  time-demanding  growth,  is 
here  at  home,  and  largely  in  excess  of  all  other  timber  growth.  Pines 
are  not  found  in  those  regions  known  as  the  cedar  barrens,  which  har- 
bor a  number  of  very  rare  plants 

The  western  part  of  the  State  again,  is  botanically  nearly  an  unex- 
plored region.  As  it  differs  geologically  and  geographically  from  the 
rest  of  the  State,  eo  may  also  a  difference  in  its  flora  be  looked  for. 
Foremost  exposed  to  the  prevailing  Avestern  currents  of  the  winds, 
fleeting  seeds  and  germs,  wafted  over  the  great  plains,  arrive  there  in 
greatest  abundance,  and,  should  even  conditions  of  soil  and  climate  not 
favor  their  permanent  establishment,  they  will  readily  be  again  replen- 
ished. The  mighty  Mississippi  annually  overflowing  hundreds  of 
square  miles,  deposits  innumerable  seeds,  whose  germs  had  been  fertil- 
ized in  the  distant  regions  of  the  far  West. 

The  Leguminosse  are  a  natural  order  of  the  dicotyledonous  plants. 
Herbs,  shrubs  or  trees,  with  papilionaceous,  or  sometimes  regular 
flowers  10  (rarely  5,  and  sometimes  many)  monadelphous,  diadelphous, 
or  rarely  distinct  stamens,  and  a  single,  simple,  free  pistil  becoming  a 


LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS.  419 

0 

legume  in  fruit.  Seeds  mostly  without  albumen.  Leaves  alternate, 
with  stipules,  usually  compound.  One  of  the  sepals  inferior,  (i.  e. 
next  the  bract,)  one  of  the  petals  superior  (i.  e.  next  the  axis  of  the  in- 
florescence). This  order  is  a  large  one,  being  composed  of  about  550 
genera  and  7,000  species.  It  contains  a  great  many  useful  plants,  sup- 
plying not  only  food,  but  timber,  fibres,  gums,  dyes,  and  various  eco- 
nomical substances.  Among  the  few  poisonous  plants  in  their  ranks 
may  be  mentioned:  Two  ornamental  plants:  Coronilla  varia  and 
Cytisus  Laburnum  of  Europe.  Gompholobium  uncinatuni  of  Australia, 
and  Physostygma  venenosum,  the  ordeal  bean  of  Calabar.  Of  our 
species  the  Baptisias  are  suspicious.  The  territory  between  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  Atlantic  enumerates  55  genera  with  about  200  species. 

The  order  is  divided  in  three  sub-orders,  the  first  sub-division  repre- 
senting it  principally  in  the  temperate  regions,  the  two  other  belong  to 
warmer  climates  and  tropics  nearly  exclusively. 

Sub-order  1.  Papilionaccse.  Proper  pulse  family.  Calyx  of  five 
sepals,  more  or  less  united,  often  unequally  so.  Corolla  perigynous 
(inserted  into  the  base  of  the  calyx)  of  five  irregular  petals  (or  very 
rarely  fewer)  imbricated  in  the  bud,  more  or  less  distinctly  papiliona- 
ceous i.  e.  with  the  upper  odd  petal,  called  the  vexillum  or  standard, 
larger  than  the  others,  and  enclosing  them  in  the  bud,  usually  turned 
backward  or  spreading ;  the  two  lateral  ones,  called  the  wings,  oblique 
and  exterior  to  the  lower  petals,  which  last  are  convenient;  and  com- 
monly more  or  less  coherent  by  their  anterior  edges,  forming  a  body 
named  the  catina  or  keel,  from  its  resemblance  to  the  keel  or  prow  of  a 
boat,  and  which  usually  encloses  the  stamens  and  pistil.  Stamens  ten, 
rarely  five,  inserted  with  the  corolla,  nionadelphous,  diadelphous, 
(mostly  with  stamen  united  in  one  set  in  a  tube,  which  is  cleft  on  the 
upper  side,  that  is  next  the  standard,  and  the  tenth  'or  upper  one  sepa- 
rate), or  occasionally  distinct.  Ovary,  one-celled,  sometimes  two- 
celled  by  an  intrusion  of  one  of  the  sutures,  or  transversely  two  many 
celled  by  cross  division  into  joints;  style  simple,  ovules  amphitropous, 
rarely  anatropous.  Cotyledons  large,  thick  or  thickish;  radicle  in- 
curved. Leaves  simple  or  simply  compound,  the  earliest  ones  in- 
mination  usually  opposite,  the  rest  alternate.  Leaflets  always  quite 
entire.  Flowers  perfect,  solitary  or  axillary,  in  spikes,  racemes,  or 
panicles. 

LUPINUS  PEBENNIS,  L— (Common  wild  Lupine.} 

A  genus  largely  .scattered  over  the  West  with  over  50  species.  Our 
species  is  blue  flowered  in  a  large  receme  with  a  palmately  5-15  leaved 
foliage.  Not  frequent.  (Palmately  means  like  the  leaves  of  the 
buckeye).  Eatable.  Flowers  April  and  May.  Alleghany  Mountains. 


420  LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS. 

I 

•« 

CROTALABIA  SAGITTALIS,  L.  Rattlebox. 

Flowers  in  racemes,  commonly  yellow,  stem  erect,  branching.  Leave? 
oblong  laneolate,  stipules  united  and  decurrent  on  the  stem,  legumes 
much  inflated.  Plant  hairy.  Valuable,  g  owing  abuDdantly  in  the 
State  in  sandy  soil.  June  and  September.  —  Good. 

MELILOTUS  ALBA,  Lam.  —  (  White  Melttote,  not  indigenous. 
Cultivated  as  forage. 

TBIFOLIUM  PBATENSE,  L.—  (Red  clover  already  described.} 

TBIFOLIUM  ABVENSE,  l*-(Rabbtijoot  clover.} 
Annual,  silky,  erect,  heads  cylindrical.     No  use. 

TRIFOLIUM  BEFLEXUM,  L—  (Buffalo  clover.) 

Biennial;  stems  ascending,  downy;  leaflets  obovate,  oblong  finely 
toothed.  Stipules  thin,  ovate;  pods  3-5,  seeded.  Valuable.  Round 
Nashville. 

TBIFOLIUM  BEPENS,  L-(  White  clover.) 
Universally  known. 

TBIFOLIUM  CABOLINIANUM,  Michx--(CWma  clover. 
Small,  procumbent,  corolla  purplish.      Does  not  afford  much  forage. 

MEDICAGO  LUPULINA,  I*-(Black  Medick.) 

Stem  procumbent.  Heads  of  flowers  roundish,  £  inch  diameter,  pal« 
yellow.  Abundant  in  dry  pastures.  Sheep  feed  on  it.  It  is  introduced 
from  Europe  and  an  annual.  May  and  August. 


PSOBALEA  MELILOTOIDES, 

Calyx  5,  a  cleft,  persistent,  the  lower  lobe  longest.  Pod  strongly 
wrinkled;  leaves  pinnately  3-folialate  stem  erect,  2-3  feet  high.  Peren- 
nial. Very  good  for  all  stock.  Common. 

PSOBALEA  SUBACAULIS,  Torr  and  Gray. 

Nearly  stemless;  leaves  palmate,  7-folialate  Root  with  a  tuber. 
Flowers  purple,  in  May.  Cattle  feed  on  it.  Nashville,  rare. 

PETALOSTEMON  FOLIOSUS,  Gray.-(Lea/y  Prairie  Clover}. 
Perennial.     Flowers  in  a  spike,   rose-colored    Stem  erect,   smooth  ; 


LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS.  421 

leaves  pinnate,  with  very  numerous  small  leaflets  ;  whole  plant  glandu- 
lar dotted.     Cedar  barrens.     June — August.     Very  valuable  plant. 

PETALOSTEMON  DECUMBENS,  Gray. 

Perennial.  Decumbent.  Leaflets  very  thin,  narrowly  linear,  corolla 
rose-purple,  with  the  former. 

PETALOSTEMON  CANDIDUS,  Michx. 

Leaflets  7-9,  lanceolate  or  linear-oblong;  corolla  white  Cumber- 
land Mountains.  July — August 

PETALOSTEMON  CORYMBOSUS,  Michx. 

Stems  clustered,  erect,  very  leafy.  Leaflets  8-7  filiform ;  teeth  of 
the  calyx  setaceous,  plumose  ;  vexillum  oblong.  June — August.  Dry 
cedar  barrens.  All  Petalostemons  are  excellent  herbage. 

AMOBPHA  FRUTICOSA,  "L.-(Lead  Plant,  or  Fake  Indigo). 

Shrubs  with  odd  pinnate  leaves ;  flowers  purple.  A  tall-growing 
shrub.  Confined  to  creek  and  river  banks. 

ROBINIA  PSEUDO-ACACIA,  L.--( Common  Locust), 
ROBINIA  VISCOSA,  Vent -(Clammy  Locust), 
ROBINIA  HISPIDIA,  L.--(Eose  Acacia), 

Arc  generally  known.  Planted  in  avenues — the  two  latter  in  gardens 
for  their  gorgeous  blossoms. 

WISTARIA  FRUTESCENS,  D.  C. 

Woody  twiner,  climbing  high,  with  minute  stipules,  and  dense  recemes 
of  large  and  showy  lilac-purple  flo*  ers.  Often  cultivated  for  ornament. 

TEPHROSIA  VIRGINIANA,  Pers.--(Goafc  Rue). 

Calyx  about  equally  5- cleft.  Standard  roundish  usually  silky  out- 
side turne,d  back,  scarcely  longer  than  the  coherent  wings  and  keel. 
Silky,  villous.  Leaflets  7-29  linear,  oblong.  Flowers  showy.  Roots 

long,  slender  and  very  tough.     Perennial.     Worthless. 

•  , 

TEPHROSIA  SPICATA,  Torr  &  Gray. 

Similar  to  the  foregoing,  but  the  spikes  loose,  long,  peduncled  and 
few  flowered  Perennial.  Not  worth  much. 


422  LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS. 

ASTRAGALUS  TENNESSIENSIS,   Gray.---- (Tennessee  Milk 
Vetch). 

Calyx  5-toothed,  corolla  long  and  narrow  ;  standard  narrow,  equaling 
or  exceeding  the  wings  and  blunt  keel ;  its  sides  refiexed  or  spreading. 
Pale  yellow.  Pod  short  and  very  thick  appressed  to  the  rocky  soil  in 
which  it  grows.  May.  Cedar  barrens.  Very  valuable. 

ASTRAGALUS  CANADENSIS,  I*.— (Canada  Milk  Vetch]. 

Tall,  pubescent;  leaflets  21-31.  oblong,  obtuse,  stipules  ovate,  clasp- 
ing; peduncles  as  long  as  the  leaves,  closely  many -flowered.  Flowers 
|  inch  long,  pale  yellow.  Nashville.  Rocks  and  cliffs  of  Cumberland 
river.  Good  forage  plant 

VICIA  MICRANTHA,  T$ntt.~(Small  Flowered  Vetch}. 

Calyx  tubular,  5-cleft,  style  filiform,  hairy  at  the  apex.  Smooth, 
leaflets  4-6  linear,  obtuse ;  peduncles  1  2  flowered.  Flowers  minute, 
pale  blue ;  legume  sabre  shaped,  4-10  seeded.  Thickets.  Common. 
April.  Good. 

VICIA  CAROLINIAN  A,  Walt.«(OiroKna  Vetch). 

Leaflets  8-24  oblong,  obtuse,  scarcely  mucronate  peduncles  loosely 
flowered :  calyx  teeth  very  short.  With  the  preceding.  May.  Very 
good. 

VICIA  AMERICANA,  Muhl. 

Leaflets  10-14  elliptical  or  ovate,  oblong  very  obtuse  many  veined; 
peduncles  4-8-flowered.  Flowers  purplish,  8  lines  long,  showy.  The 
Vicias  are  climbing,  tendril  bearing,  and  all  equally  valuable.  The  last 
deserves  to  be  cultivated. 

STYLOSANTHES  ELATIOR,  S war tz.--( Pencil  Flower). 

Yellow  flowering,  low ;  perennial;  branched  from  the  base  with  wiry 
stems,  pinnately  3-foliolate  leaves,  the  small  orange  yellow  flowers  in 
few  flowered  clusters.  June — October.  Cattle  feed  upon  it. 

• 

LESPEDEZA  REPENS,  Torr  &  Gray. —(Creeping  Bush  Clover). 

Calyx  5-cleft ;  the  lobes  nearly  equal,  slender,  stamens  diadelphous. 
Pods  of  a  single,  one-seeded  joint,  oval  or  roundish,  flat,  reticulated ; 


LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS.  423 

leaves  pinnately  3  foliolate,  smooth;  prostrate,  spreading,  very  slender. 
Dry,  gravely  localities.     June — September. 

LESPEDEZA  VIOLACEA,  Pers — (Purple  Bush  Clover). 

Stems  upright  or  spreading,  branched ;  leaflets  varying  from  oval  ob- 
long to  linear,  whitish,  downy  beneath  with  close-pressed  pubescence  ; 
peduncles  or  clusters  few  flowered ;  pods  ovate  July — September. 
Copses.  Common, 

LESPEDEZA  STUVEI,  Nutt.~(Dow»y  Bush  Clover). 

Stems  upright,  spreading,  bushy,  downy ;  leaflets  oval  or  roundish, 
longer  than  the  petiole,  silky  or  white  wooly  beneath,  clusters  many 
flowered.  With  the  foregoing.  July — August. 

LESPEDEZA  HIBTA,  ^11.— (Hairy  Bush  Clover.) 

Flowers  in  a  cylindrical  rather  loose  spike ;  corolla  whitish  with  a 
purple  spot  on  the  standard ;  leaflets  roundish  or  oval,  hairy.  Plant  up- 
right, wand-like,  2-4  feet  high.  Dry  hills  and  barrens.  July. 

LESPEDEZA  CAPITATA,  Michx..- (Bound-headed  Bush   Clover). 

Similar  to  the  foregoing,  but  the  leaflets  elliptical  or  oblong,  thickish, 
reticulated  and  mostly  smooth  above,  silky  beneath,  spikes  or  heads 
dense,  nearly  globular.  With  the  former,  July — August. 

The  four  last  described  Lespedeazs  are  exceedingly  valuable  pasture 
plants.  Lespedeza  striata,  the  Japan  clover,  already  described,  is  now 
quite  common  in  many  countries,  but  the  American  indigenous  species 
would  prove  equally  as  valuable. 

DESMODITJM,  D,  C.»(Tick  Foil). 

Calyx  more  or  less  2 -lipped.  Standard  obovate;  wings  adherent  to 
the  straight  and  usually  truncate  keel,  by  means  of  a  little  transverse 
appendage  on  each  side  of  the  latter.  Stamens  diadelphous  9  and  1, 
or  monadelphous.  Pod  flat,  deeply  lobed  on  the  lower  margin,  sepa- 
rating into  few  or  many  flat  reticulated  joints,  (mostly  roughened  with 
minnte  hooked  hairs,  by  which  they  adhere  to  the  fleece  of  animals 
or  to  the  clothing).  Perennial  herbs  with  pinnately  3-foliolate  (rarely 
1-folioate)  leaves,  stipellate. 

This  is  a  large  genus  with  23  species  in  the  Atlantic  part  of  the  West- 
ern States,  and  most  species  are  very  common  and  abundant 


424  LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS. 

DESMODIUM  PAUCIFLORUM,  D.  C.-($pandy-ftmoend  Tick- 
Trefoil). 

Leaflets  rhombic-ovate,  bluntish,  pale  beneath  ;  raceme  few  flowered, 
terminal.  Woods,  common,  June — September. 

DESMODIUM  ACUMINATUM,  D.  C.~(Sharp  pointed  Tick-Tre 
foil.) 

Leaves  all  crowded  at  the  summit  of  the  stem,  from  which  arises  the 
elongated  naked  raceme  or  panicle;  leaflets  round  ovate,  taper-pointed, 
green  both  sides.  Woods,  common. 

DESMODIUM  NUDIFLORUM,  D.  C.--(  White-fleered  Tick-Tre- 
foil}. 

Leaves  all  crowded  at  the  summit  of  sterile  sterns^;  leaflets  broadly 
ovate,  bluntish,  whitish  beneath ;  raceme  elongated  on  an  ascending 
mostly  leafless  stalk  or  scape  from  the  root,  2  feet  long,  Woods,  com- 
mon. August — September. 

DESMODIUM  CUSPIDATUM,  Torr  &  Gray. --(Cuspidate  Tick- 
Trefoil}. 

Very  smooth  except  the  panicle ;  stem  straight ;  leaflets  lanceolate, 
ovate  and  taper-pointed,  green  both  sides  ;  longer  than  the  petiole  3-5 
inches  long,  joints  of  the  pod  rhomboid,  oblong,  smoothish.  Common. 
June — September 

DESMODIUM  ROTUNDIFOLIUM,  D.  C.-(Round  Leafed  Tick- 
Trefoil.) 

Soft,  hairy  all  over,  truly  prostrate ;  leaflets  orbicular,  or  the  odd  one 
slightly  rhomboid;  pods  almost  equally  sinuate  on  both  edges,  3-5  joint- 
ed ;  the  joints  rhomboid-oval.  Common.  June— September. 

DESMODIUM  CANADENSE,  D.  C.     (Canadian  Tick  Trefoil). 

Stem  hairy  ;  (3-6  feet  high).  Leaflets  oblong,  lanceolate  or  ovate, 
lanceolate,  obtuse,  with  numerous  straight  veins,  much  longer  than  the 
petiole,  (1^-3  inches  long);  flowers  showy,  larger  than  in  any  other 
species,  1-3  to  1-2  inch  long. '  East  Tennesseee  August,  September. 

DESMODIUM  DILLENII,  T>a,rl~(Dillens  Tick  Trefoil). 

Stem  pubescent]  leaflets  oblong,  or  oblong-ovate,  commonly  bluntish, 
pale  beneath  softly  and  finely  pubescent.  Open  woodlands;  common. 
July,  September. 

DESMODIUM  PANICULATUM,    D.  ^.-(Smooth  Tick  Trefoil,} 
Nearly  smooth  throughout;  stem  slender,  tall;  leaflets  oblong-lanceo- 


LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS.  425 

late,  or  narrowly  lanceolate,  tapering  to  a  blunt  point,  thin,  3-5  inches 
long;  racemes  much  panicled;  June,  September;  common. 

DESMODIUM  STRICTUM,  D.  C.--(Stiff  Tick  Trefoil). 

Stem  very  straight  and  slender,  simple,  2-3  feet  high,  the  upper  part 
and  narrow  panicle  rough,  glandular;  leaflets  linear,  blunt,  strongly  re- 
ticulated thickish,  very  smooth,  1-2  inches  long,  £  inch  wide;  joints  of 
the  pod  1-3  semi-obovate  or  very  gibbous,  only  two  lines  long.  Cedar 
barrens. 

The  main  bulk  of  the  pea-vine  food  found  in  the  forest  and  unculti- 
vated regions,  consists  of  the  various  species  of  this  genus,  several  of 
which  would  certainly  do  well  in  cultivation.  Amongst  those,  D.  pau- 
ciflorurn,  and  D.  nudiflorum,  cuspidatum  and  Canadense  are  best. 

APIOS  TUBEROSAsMomch--(GnmwZ  nut.) 

A  twining  and  climbing  vine;  flowers  in  crowded  oval  racemes,  fra- 
grant, of  a  dull  purple,  mixed  with  green;  legume  3-5  inches  long,  8-10 
seeded;  plant  with  some  milky  juice.  August,  September.  The  root 
bears  tubers  which  are  farinaceous  and  eatable.  Hogs  know  how  to  find 
them.  The  plant  ought  to  be  tried  under  cultivation,  as  the  size  and 
quality  of  the  tuber  would  perhaps  become  gradually  improved. 

PHASEOLUS  PERENNIS,  Walt— ( Wild  Kidney  Bean). 

Calyx  5-toothed,  or  5-cleft,  the  two  upper  teeth  higher  united;  keel 
of  the  corolla  with  the  included  stamens  and  style  spirally  coiled  or 
curved  into  a  ring;  stamens  diadelphous;  climbing  higher  from  a  peren- 
nial root;  leaflets  roundish,  ovate,  short  panicled;  pods  drooping, 
strongly  cured,  4-5  seeded;  flowers  purple,  handsome.  Copses,  common; 
valuable.  July,  September. 

PHASEOLUS  DIVERSIFOLIUS,  Pers--( Creeping  Kidney  Bean). 
Annual;  stem  prostrate,  spreading,  rough,  hairy;  leaflets  ovate;  3- 
lobed,  or  angled  towards  the  base,  or  some  of  them  oblong,  ovate  and 
entire  ;  peduncles  at  length,  twice  the  length  of  the  leaves.  Corolla 
greenish  white,  tinged  with  purple.  Prairies  and  cedar  glades;  summer. 
Good. 

PHASEOLUS  HELVOLUS,  Ii.—(L<mg  Stalked  Kidney  Bean). 

Perennial,  hairy;  stem  diffuse,  slender;  leaflets  ovate  or  oblong,  en- 
tire or  obscurely  angled.  Peduncles  3-6  times  the  length  of  the  leaves 
Flowers  as  large  as  in  the  former,  and  similar.  One  single  plant  makes 
a  great  quantity  of  herbage.  It  could  perhaps  be  gathered  with  some 
profit  and  used  from  the  native  state.  Good  for  all  stock. 


426  LEGUMINOUS    PLANTS. 

CLITORIA  MARIANA,  I*~(Butterfly  pea). 

A  low,  ascending  or  twining  plant,  with  pinnately,  3  folialate  leaves, 
and  very  large,  pale  blue  flowers,  July.  Eatable,  but  too  scattering. 

CENTROSEMA  VIRfUNIANUM,    Benth- (Spurred  Butterfly 

Pea). 

Corolla  much  like  in  the  foregoing,  but  the  spreading  standard  with  a 
spur  shaped  projection  on  the  back  near  the  base;  pod  long  and  linear, 
many  seeded,  thickened  at  the  edges  A  twining  perennial,  with  3  fol- 
iolate  stipulate  leaves,  and  large,  showy  flowers.  Corolla  7  inches  long, 
violet.  Common.  Forage  plant.  Flowers  all  summer. 

AMPHICARP-S1A  MONOICA,  ^Yl- (Hog  pea  nut). 

Flowers  of  two  kinds;  those  of  the  racemes  from  the  upper  branches 
perfect,  but  seldom  ripening  fruit;  those  near  the  base  and  on  creeping 
branches  with  the  corolla  none  or  rudimentary,  ana  few  free  stamens, 
but  fruitful,  calyx  about  equally  4  (rarely  5)  toothed;  bractlets  none, 
or  minute;  keel  and  wing  petals  similar,  almost  straight,  the  standard 
partly  folded  round  them.  Stamens  diadelphous;  style  beardless;  pods 
of  the  upper  flowers  when  formed  somewhat  scymetar-shaped,  3-4  seed- 
ed ;  of  the  lower  ones  commonly  subterranean,  obovate  or  pear  shaped, 
fleshy;  ripening  usually  but  one  large  seed.  A  low  and  slender  peren- 
nial, the  twining  stems  clothed  with  brownish  hairs;  leaves  pinnately 
3-foliolate;  leaflets  rhombic,  ovate,  stipulate.  Flowers  small,  in  clus- 
ters, or  compound  racemes,  purplish.  The  subterranean  pods  are  hairy 
and  greedily  eaten  by  hogs.  The  herbage  makes  very  good  food.  The 
fruit  burrowing  habit  of  this  species  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Afri- 
can pea  nut.  It  abounds  round  Nashville,  and  requires  rich  soil  in  the 
woods.  Flowers  all  summer. 

GALACTIA  MOLLIS,  R.  TZrown~(Milk  Pea). 

Low,  prostrate  and  twining  perennial;  leaflet  3,  stipulate,  oval,  soft, 
downy  and  hairy  beneath;  flowers  in  interrupted  or  somewhat  knotty 
racemes,  purplish,  pods  very  downy;  flowers  in  summer. 

GALACTIA  GLABELLA,  Michx.--(£moo*A  Milk  Pea). 

Stems  nearly  smooth,  prostrate;  leaflets  elliptical  or  ovate,  oblong, 
sometimes  slightly  hairy  beneath;  racemes  short,  4-8  flowered;  pods 
somewhat  hairy;  flowers  large,  rose-purple.  They  are  what  their  name 
indicates,  excellent  food  for  milk  cows.  Abundant  in  the  State. 

BAPTISIA  TINCTORIA,  R.  Brown--(TF/W  Indigo). 
Calyx  4-5  toothed.    Standard  not  longer  than  the  wings,  its  sides  re- 


LEGUMINOUS    PLANTS.  427 

flexed;  keel  petals  nearly  separate,  and,  like  the  wings,  straight,  stamens 
10,  distinct,  pod  stalked  in  the  persistent  calyx,  roundish  or  oblong,  in- 
flated, pointed,  many  seeded,  smooth,  2-3  feet  high,  rather  glaucous; 
corolla  yellow,  \  inch  long.  Flowers  in  July  and  August. 

BAPTISIA  LEUCANTHA,  Torr  &  Gray- 
Smooth;  1-3  feet  high  slender  and  the  branches  wide  spreading;  very 
similar  to  the  foregoing,  but  pod  long-stalked,   and  standard  of  the  cor- 
olla very  short.     Flowers  white. 

BAPTISIA  ALBA,  B.  Brown—  (White  Baptisia). 

Similar  to  the  former;  flowers  white,  pods  linear,  oblong,  short  stalk- 
ed. The  branches  of  the  pyramidal  growing  plant  slender  and  widely 
spreading.  May. 

BAPTISIA  AUSTBALIS,  R.  Brown--(j&K  False  Indigo). 

Is  of  similar  habit,  but  taller  and  stouter;  4-5  feet  high;  raceme  elon- 
gated, 1-2  feet  long;  flowers  one  inch  long,  indigo  blue;  often  cultivated 
in  gardens.  (Bridgeport).  Flowers  in  summer.  The  Baptisias  are  gen- 
erally not  touched  by  any  stock.  In  drying  they  turn  black. 

THERMOPSIS  MOLLIS,  Curtes- (Downy  Leafed  Thermopsis}. 

Genus  like  Baptisia,  but  with  a  long,  narrow  flat  pod;  plant  1-2  feet 
high;  minutely  soft,  downy;  leaflets  wedge  obovate,  varying  to  oblong; 
raceme  reclining;  flowers  golden  yellow,  pod  long  and  linear.  This  is  a 
rare  plant  in  this  State,  and  found  yet  but  in  one  locality,  on  Judge  Lee's 
place,  top  of  Harpeth  ridge.  For  several  years  in  succession  the  cattle 
had  eaten  it  down  in  a  measure  that  I  could  obtain  but  two  good  speci- 
mens. It  flowers  in  June. 

CLADRASTIS  TINCTORIA,  naf~(  Yellow  wood). 

Attains  considerable  size  in  the  Harpeth  hills  by  Nashville.  One  tree 
measured  10  feet  round  about  4  feet  above  the  ground.  Its  hight,  how- 
ever, was  only  about  thirty  feet.  Other  specimens  attain  more  hight 
by  less  thickness.  Flowers  similar  to  the  locust.  Well  enough  known 
in  this  region. 

CERCIS  CANDENSIS,  L-- 

The  red  bud  needs  no  description.     It  ought  to   be  used  as  an  orna- 
mental tree. 
GLEDITSCHIA  TRIACANTHOS,  ^--(H&ney  Locust). 

Its  pods  are  eaten  by  stock,  and  young  trees  are  frequently  kept 
down  in  a  stunted  condition  from  the  biting  and  browsing  of  stock. 


428  LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS. 

GLEDITSCHIA  MONOSPERMA,  Walt--   (Swamp  Locust). 

With  \es»  and  simple  thorns,  and  small,  oval,  one  seeded,  and  pulpless 
pods,  is  a  small  tree,  growing  in  the  Mississippi  bottoms,  never  seen  by 
me  in  the  Middle  and  Eastern  parts  of  the  State. 

GYMNOCLADUS  CANADENSIS,  Lam  -(Coffee  Tree.} 

Leaves  3  feet  long,  with  several  large,  partial  leafstalks,  bearing  7-13 
ovate,  stalked  leaflets,  pod  6-10  inches  long,  2  inches  broad,  the  seed 
over  |  inch  across.  This  ie  one  ofi  the  noblest  forest  trees,  timber  val- 
uable. It  ought  to  be  planted  in  parks  and  at  road  sides. 

CASSIA  MARILANDICA,  ^--(American  Senna.) 

Perennial  herb  with  simple  pinnate  leaves,  showy;  yellow  flowers  in 
axillary  raceme,  the  upper  ones  panicled.  Leaflets  6-9  pairs,  lanceolate 
oblong  obtuse;  petiole  with  a  globe-shaped  gland  near  the  base;  pods 
linear,  slightly  curved.  Leaves  used  as  a  substitute  for  the  officinal 
senna. 

CASSIA  OBTUSIFOLIA,  L~(  Wild  Senna). 

Annual;  leaflets  3  or  rarely  2  pairs,  obovate,  obtuse,  with  an  elonga- 
ted gland  between  those  of  the  lower  pairs  or  lowest  pair,  pods  slender, 
6  inches  long,  curved.  Common  on  river  banks  and  in  waste  places.  No 
use.  Not  touched  by  stock. 

CASSIA  CHA10ECRISTA,  It-Partridge  Pea 

Leaflets  small,  10-15  pairs,  linear,  oblong,  oblique  at  the  base,  flowers 
large,  on  slender  petioles,  anthers  10,  elongated,  unequal;  4  of  them 
\  ellow,  the  others  purple,  style  slender.  Sandy  fields,  common.  Some- 
times eaten  by  cattle . 

CASSIA  NICTITANS,  L--(  Wild  Sensitive  Plant). 

Like  the  former  sensitive  to  the  touch,  especially  so  in  hot  •»  <  ather. 
Leaflets  10-20  pairs  oblong,  linear,  flowers  small,  on  very  short  pedi- 
cels, anthers  5,  nearly  equal  with  the  former.  Of  no  utility. 

ACACIA  JULIBRISSIM,  L- 

Is  a  tine  ornamental  tree  of  the  Mimosa  family,  the  third  Suborder 
of  the  Leguniinosae,  (Clrcis,  Cassia,  Gymnocladus,  Gleditschia,  belong 
to  the  second  suborder,  or  Caesalpsineae).  The  Mimosse  have  regular 
flowers,  corolla  valvate  in  sestivation,  stamens  often  very  numerous. 
Leaves  twice  pinn ate.  A  large  tree  of  this  kind  of  about  30  feet  high 
and  nearly  1  foot  in  diameter,  demonstrating  sufficiently  its  adapta- 


LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS.  429 

bility  to  the  climate,  did  exist  formerly  corner  Vauxliall  and  Broad 
streets,  Nashville,  and  has  recently  very  injudiciously  been  cut  down. 
Native  of  Palestine.  It  makes  a  very  ornamental  tree. 

DESMANTHUS  BKACHYLOBUS,  Willd~(Demamihu8.) 

This  and  the  next  two  belong  to  the  Mimosas  or  sensitive  plants.  It 
is  also  sensitive  to  the  touch;  soon  folding  its  2-pinnate  foliage;  nearly 
glabrous,  erect,  1-4  feet  high,  light  green;  partial  petioles  6-15  pairs, 
leaflets  20-30  pairs;  stamens  5.  Pods  oblong,  sickel-shaped,  about  one 
inch  long,  forming  a  globular  cluster.  Frequently  met  with  in  dry  ce- 
dar barrens.  They  are  much  liked  by  horses  and  other  stock.  In  cul- 
tivation, with  a  proper  management  of  planting  and  working  it  would 
produce  an  immense  quantity  of  food. 

SCHRANKIA  UNCINATA,  WiUd-and 

SCHRANKIA  ANGUSTATA,  Torr  &  Gray-- (&"**<«  ^tar.) 
/» rr  tnTo  small  creeping  briars,  very  sensitive,  with  small  gloubular 
heads  of  rose  colored  delicate  flowers.  Both  occur  on  siliceous  soil  and 
are  visited  by  sheep  and  cattle,  notwithstanding  thei'  prickly  stems  and 
peticles.  Growing  all  summer. 


430 


LEGUMINOUS    PLANTS. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


PEANUT    GOOBER  PEA,  GROUND  PEA.— Arachis  hypoycea. 

The  principal  characters  of  the  genus  are  the  immensely  long  tube  of 
the  calyx,  whose  limb  is  two-lipped;  the  corolla  papilionaceous  and 

yellow,  and  eight  stamens 
united  in  one  parcel.  The 
ovary  is  very  small,  and  is 
plared  at  the  bottom  of  the 
very  long  calyx  tube;  it 
contains  two  ovules,  and  is 
terminated  by  a  very  long 
style,  thickened  at  its  ex- 
tremity, and  covered  with 
hairs  at  the  place  where  it 
comes  in  contact  with  the 
stamens.  After  the  fall  of 
the  flower,  the  ovary,  which 
is  very  small,  is  gradually 
raised  upon  a  stalk  which, 
in  time,  attains  at  length 
two  to  three  inches,  and  in 
its  growth  curves  down- 
wards, so  that  a  length  of 
the  small  ovary  at  its  ex- 
tremity is  thrust  into  the 
ground.  When  this  happens,  the  ovary  begins  to  enlarge  and  ripens 
into  a  pale  yellowish,  wrinkled,  slightly  curved  pod,  often  contracted 
in  the  middle  and  containing  two  seeds.  Should'  the  ovary,  by  some 
accident,  not  be  enabled  to  thrust  its  pods  into  the  ground,  it  withers 
and  does  not  attain  perfection. 

The  Peanut  is  supposed  to  be  indigenous  to  Africa,  and 
within  the  last  few  years  has  become  of  great  commercial 
importance.  Large  quantities  are  grown  on  the  western 
oast  of  Africa  and  in  South  America.  It  is  also  cultivated 


PEANUTS.  431 

in  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama  and  Ten- 
nessee, Virginia  taking  the  lead  in  its  production. 

The  principal  peanut  growing  counties  in  Tennessee  are 
Perry,  Hickman,  Humphreys,  Dickson  and  Lewis.  Two 
varieties  are  known  in  Tennessee,  the  red  and  the  white. 
The  red  grows  with  an  erect  stem  and  is  more  easily  culti- 
vated, the  largest  portion  of  the  work  being  done  with  the 
plow.  The  white  peanut  grows  flat  on  the  ground,  spread- 
ing out  and  forming  the  rigid,  deflexed  stalk  to  which  the 
forming  pod  is  attached  in  the  ground.  The  white  is  the 
most  prolific,  is  later  in  coming  to  maturity  than  the  red, 
but  brings  usually  a  better  price  in  market.  The  red  ma- 
tures better  because  earlier,  and  yields  fewer  imperfect  ones 
called  "puffs  "or  "pops." 

An  argillaceous  soil,  filled  with  light  pebbles,  so  as  to 
make  it  loose  and  prevent  baking,  is  the  best  for  peanuts. 
The  brighter  the  pebbles  and  clay  the  better  the  peanuts, 
the  color  of  the  soil  affecting  the  color  of  the  peanut  and 
their  markst  value.  Uplands,  with  an  original  growth  of 
hickory  and  white  oak,  with  a  light  clay,  are  greatly  prefer- 
red for  this  reason  to  the  black  soils  of  the  bottoms.  While 
the  latter  may  yield  a  greater  quantity  of  nuts  per  acre, 
they  are  not  so  marketable,  and  are  classed  among  the  lower 
grades. 

The  land  is  usually  preparred  in  April,  after  the  danger 
of  frost  is  past.  It  is  seldom  subsoiled,  but  well  harrowed, 
so  as  to  pulverize  it  thoroughly.  For  white  peanuts  it  is 
then  checked  off  in  rows  two  and  a  half  or  three  feet  apart, 
and  two  kernels,  after  being  carefully  hulled  by  hand,  are 
dropped,  like  corn,  at  the  intersection  of  the  furrows,  and 
covered  with  a  hoe  an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  deep. 
It  is  often  difficult  to  obtain  a  good  stand.  Should  the 
land  become  compacted,  after  planting,  by  a  hard  rain,  a  har- 
row should  be  run  over  it,  when  sufficiently  dry,  to  break 
the  obstructing  crust  so  that  the  plumule,  which  is  very  deli- 
cate and  tender,  can  push  its  way  to  the  surface.  The  brown 


432  LEGUMINOUS   PLANTS. 

millipede,  cut-worms  and  moles  are  all  great  enemies  to  the 
peanut  when  first  planted.  Should  the  plumule  fail  to 
make  its  appearance  after  ten  days  of  favorable  weather, 
re-planting  should  begin. 

Red  peanuts  are  usually  planted  in  ridges  like  cotton. 
The  seeds  are  dropped  along  in  the  furrow  which  is 
opened  on  top  the  ridge,  from  eight  to  twelve  inches  apart, 
and  covered  by  a  board,  like  cotton  seed,  some  two  inches 
deep.  About  two  and  a  half  bushels  in  the  hull  are  re- 
quired to  plant  an  acre.  Very  fertile  lands  are  not  suited 
to  this  crop,  for  the  reason  that  too  much  vine  is  objection- 
able, as  the  peanuts  continue  to  form  without  maturing. 
For  this  reason  very  few  fertilizers  are  used  in  making  the 
crop. 

The  after  culture  of  the  peannt  is  very  simple.  Keep 
down  the  weeds  and  stir  the  ground  often  with  a  harrow, 
and  finally  with  double  shovels,  so  as  to  leave  a  loose  sur- 
face. The  soil  is  usually  thrown  up  to  the  red  peanuts,  but 
level  culture  is  demanded  for  the  white.  The  crop  is  usu- 
ally "laid  by"  about  the  first  of  August,  the  bunches  of 
grass  escaping  the  plow  being  carefully  cut  out  and  the 
the  ground  left  light  and  loose.  A  dry  spring  is  very 
much  to  be  desired  in  the  cultivation*  of  this  crop.  After 
the  spikelets  begin  to  push  down  into  the  soil,  frequent 
showers  are  indispensable  to  a  large  yield. 

The  crop  of  white  peanuts  is  harvested  by  running  a  fur- 
row on  each  side  of  the  row  with  a  bull-tongue  plow  or  a 
pea-digger,  so  as  to  dislocate  the  roots.  Care  must  be 
taken  not  to  detach  the  nuts  from  the  vine  in  running  the 
side  furrow.  After  the  plow  has  been  run  on  eaeh  side  of 
the  row,  (and  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  run  twice  on  a 
side),  then  lift  the  vines  gently  with  the  hand,  carefully 
shaking  the  dirt  off,  and  lay  them  on  the  ground.  Let 
them  remain  in  this  way,  if  the  sun  is  shining,  from  six  to 
eight  hours.  The  vines  will  wilt  like  clover,  when  they 
may  be  brought  together  and  stacked. 


*       SORGHUM.  513 

getting  a  good  stand  will  not  want  to  destroy  it.  It  will 
bear  cutting  three  or  four  times  a  year,  and  in  fact,  it  has  to 
be  done,  for  when  it  matures  the  seed,  the  stem  and  leaves 
are  too  coarse  and  woody  for  use. 

Jno.  B.  McEwen,  Esq.,  of  Williamson  county,  procured 
a  bushel  of  seed  from  Dr.  Gardner,  and  last  year  cut  it  four 
times,  getting  a  large  amount  of  hay  each  time.  He  is  de- 
lighted with  it,  and  says  it  is  the  best  hay  he  raises,  and  his 
dictum  is  of  value,  as  he  stands  deservedly  among  the  best 
of  our  farmers. 

The  ground  must  be  well  prepared  as  in  other  grasses,  and 
in  September,  the  earlier  the  better,  let  it  be  sown,  one 
bushel  to  the  acre. 

It  can  be  propagated  also  by  the  roots,  by  laying  off  the 
rows  each  way  and  dropping  a  joint  of  the  root  two  feet 
apart  and  covering  with  a  drag. 

It  gives  the  earliest  pastures  we  have,  preceding  blue 
grass  or  clover  a  month.  Hogs  are  fond  of  the  rootb,  and 
any  amount  of  rooting  in  it  will  not  injure  it.  In  fact  it  is 
a  stick  tight.  It  Vot  only  thrives  well  on  bottoms,  but  it 
will  grow  just  as  well  on  upland,  and  though  poor  upland 
will  make  but  little  hay,  yet  it  makes  a  fine  pasture.  It 
disappears  in  the  winter  altogether,  but  the  first  warm 
weather  brings  it  up,  and  it  grows  with  astonishing  rapidity. 
On  our  lands  and  in  our  climate  it  will  grow  from  five  to 
seven  feet  high,  while  in  South  Carolina  it  will  grow 
twelve  feet  high. 

For  soiling  purposes  it  is  not  equaled  by  any  grass  in  our 
knowledge,  as  it  can  be  cut  every  two  or  three  weeks. 

There  is  a  vast  amount  of  land  in  Tennessee  now  de- 
voted to  gullies  that  would  pay  at  least  the  taxes,  and  after 
a  while  richly  remunerate  the  owner,  if  put  in  this  grass* 
It  is  not  a  pre-requisite  that  the  land  should  be  broken  up 
to  start  it.  A  few  sprigs  of  the  roots  set  here  and  there  in 
the  richest  spots,  will  secure  a  good  stand. 
8 


514  THE   QBASSES   OP   TENNESSEE. 

Many  persons  object  to  it  on  account  of  its  great  tenacity 
of  life,  matting  the  soil  in  every  direction  with  its  cane- 
like  roots,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  it  will  spread  over 
a  field,  and  the  difficulty  of  eradicating  it.  But  these  very 
objections  should  be  its  recommendation  to  owners  of  worn- 
out  fields ;  and  if  it  is  desired  to  destroy  it,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  pasture  it  closely  one  year,  and  then  in  the  fall 
turn  the  roots  up  with  a  big  plow  to  the  freezes  of  a  winter, 
renewing  the  breaking  up  once  or  twice  during  the  winter, 
and  then  cultivating  the,  next  spring.  The  seeds  are  quite 
heavy,  and  weigh  35  pounds  to  the  bushel.  Every  one  who  has 
tried  it  recommends  it  to  the  public.  But  some  allowance 
must  be  made  for  the  partiality  of  friends,  and  it  would  be 
well  to  give  it  a  trial  before  engaging  in  its  culture  to  any 
large  extent.  There  would,  however,  certainly  be  no  risk 
in  sowing  it  upon  those  worn-out  hill  sides,  so  many  of  which 
form  an  unsightly  scar  upon  the  face  of  nature  in  Tennessee 
— the  tokens  of  the  past. 


BED   CLOVER. 


51ft 


CHAPTER  XI. 

RED   CLOVER— (Trifolium  pratense.} 

The  stems  are  ascending,  somewhat  hairy,  leaflets  oval  or  somewhat 
subovate,  often  notched  at  the  end  and  marked  with  pale  spots  on  the 
upper  side,  heads  ovate  and  set  directly  on  the  end  of  the  stalk,  instead 
of  being  on  the  branches. 

This  valuable  forage  plant 
was  first  introduced  into 
England  in  1 645,  during  the 
stormy  times  of  Charles  I, 
and  rapidly  met  with  favor 
throughout  the  kingdom.  It 
properly  belongs  to  the  legu- 
minous family,  which  in- 
cludes a  considerable  num- 
ber of  other  forage  plants 
that  are  called  artificial 
grasses,  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  true  or  natural 
grasses  called  graminece.  The 
botanic  name  trifolium  comes 
from  two  latin  words,  tres, 
three,  and  folium,  a  leaf,  and  in  England  it  is  olten  called 
Trefoil.  It  may  always  be  known  by  having  three  leaves 
in  a  bunch,  and  the  flowers  in  dense,  oblong  globular  heads. 
There  is  no  grass,  natural  or  artificial,  that  is  more  useful 
to  the  farmer  or  stock-grower,  than  Red  Clover.  It  has 
been  styled,  with  some  show  of  reason,  the  corner-stone  of 
agriculture,  and  this  not  only  on  account  of  its  vigorous 
vitality,  but  because  it  adapts  itself  to  a  great  variety  of 
soils.  It  is  widely  diffused,  and  abounds  in  every  part  of 
Europe,  in  North  America,  and  even  in  Siberia.  It  fur- 
nishes an  immense  amount  of  grazing,  yields  an  abundanae 


516  THE   GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 

of  nutritious  hay,  and  is  a  profitable  crop,  considered  with 
reference  to  the  seed  alone.  But  beyond  all  these,  it  acts  as 
a  vigorous  ameliorator  of  the  soil,  increasing  more  than  any 
other  forage  plant  the  amount  of  available  nitrogen,  and  so 
becomes  an  important  agent  in  keeping  up  the  productive 
capacity  of  the  soil,  increasing  the  yield  of  other  crops,  and 
adding  to  the  wealth,  refinement  and  culture  of  the  farmer 
who  sows  it. 

SOILS   ADAPTED   TO   ITS    GROWTH. 

Red  Clover  is  a  biennial  plant,  and  under  judicious  till- 
age may  be  made  a  perennial,  and  is  specially  adapted  to 
argillaceous  soils,  but  it  will  grow  well  upon  sandy  soils, 
when  a  "  catch"  is  secured,  by  the  application  of  a  top- 
dressing  of  gypsum  or  barn-yard  manure.  I  have  seen  it 
growing  with  vigor  upon  the  feldspathic  soils  of  Johnson 
county,  upon  the  sandstone  soils  of  the  Cumberland  moun- 
tain, and  upon  the  sandy  loams  of  West  Tennessee,  but  it 
finds  a  more  congenial  soil  in  the  clayey  lands  of  the  valley 
of  East  Tennessee,  on  the  red  soils  of  the  Highland  Kim, 
and  on  the  limestone  loams  of  the  Central  Basin.  But  the 
deep,  black,  porous  soils  of  this  division  are  not  suited  for 
clover.  Such  soils  become  very  dry  in  summer,  and  opens 
in  great  cracks  or  fissures.  The  clover  grows  well  enough, 
but  is  apt  to  be  killed  by  the  dry,  hot  weather  of  summer. 

The  clayey  lands  of  West  Tennessee  have  no  superior  for 
the  production  of  clover.  It  often  grows  upon  these  lands 
from  four  to  five  feet  in  height,  and  forms  a  mat  when  it 
falls,  of  great  density  and  thickness.  As  much  as  four  tons 
of  clover  hay  have  been  taken  from  a  single  acre.  There 
is  also  a  soil  derived  from  the  Dyestone  or  Clinton  forma- 
tion in  East  Tennessee  that  grows  clover  with  surprising 
luxuriance.  On  such  soils  in  McMinn  county,  I  have  seen 
the  ordinary  Red  Clover  six  and  a  half  feet  in  height. 
Probably  three-fourths  of  the  lands  in  Tennessee  will  grow 
clover  remuneratively,  and  of  the  soils  which  will  not,  a 
large  portion  is  included  in  the  old  gullied  fields  that  con- 


RED   CLOVER.  517 

stitute  the  shame  and  mark  the  shiftlessness  of  too  many  of 
the  farmers.  It  may  be  set  down  as  an  infallible  rule  in 
the  State  of  Tennessee,  that  good  farming  and  abundant 
clover  ing  go  together. 

SOWING    CLOVER. 

Clover  may  be  sown  in  the  latitude  of  Tennessee  upon 
wheat,  rye  or  oat  fields,  or  alone.  Instances  have  been  re- 
ported to  me  where  a  splendid  stand  was  obtained  by  sow- 
ing after  cultivators  in  the  last  working  of  corn  in  July. 
This  is  unusual,  however.  So  is  fall  sowing.  The  best 
time  to  sow  is  from  the  first  of  January  until  the  first  of 
April.  If  sown  in  January  or  February,  the  seed  ought  to 
be  sown  upon  snow.  This  is  not  only  convenient  in  ena- 
bling one  to  distribute  the  seed  evenly  over  the  land,  but 
the  gradual  melting  of  the  snow,  and  the  slight  freezes,  bury 
the  seed  just  deep  enough  to  ensure  rapid  germination  when 
the  warm  days  of  March  come  on.  For  the  same  reason,  if 
sown  in  March,  the  seed  ought  to  be  sown  when  the  ground 
is  slightly  crusted  by  a  freeze.  If  the  sowing  is  deferred 
until  too  late  for  frosty  nights,  the  land  should  be  well  har- 
rowed and  the  seed  sown  immediately  after  the  harrow. 
Upon  land  seeded  to  wheat,  this  harrowing  will  not  only 
serve  to  secure  a  good  stand  of  clover,  but  will  add  greatly 
to  the  yield  of  wheat.  It  will  hasten  germination 
and  cause  a  larger  proportion  of  seed  to  grow,  to  harrow 
the  land  after  the  seed  is  sown.  With  oats,  the  seeds 
should  be  sown  after  the  last  harrowing  or  brushing,  with  a 
slight  after-brushing  to  cover  them. 

It  often  happens  when  clover  seed  is  sown  with  wheat  or 
oats,  especially  if  the  land  be  much  worn,  that  a  "  catch" 
will  not  be  obtained.  The  practice  is  so  universal  through- 
out the  State,  of  sowing  clover  with  small  grain,  that  many 
farmers  labor  under  the  impression  that  this  is  the  only  way 
of  seeding  land  to  clover.  This  idea  is  erroneous.  A  bet- 
ter stand  of  clover  with  less  seed,  may  always  be  secured 
by  sowing  upon  land  prepared  for  clover  alone.  I  have 


518  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

often  obtained  an  excellent  catch  upon  "galled"  places,  by 
breaking  the  land  well,  and  sowing  the  seed  without  any 
previous  or  after  harrowing.  In  nine  cases  in  ten,  a  stand 
will  be  secured  in  this  way  upon  soils  where  clover  sown 
with  small  grain  will  fail  nine  cases  in  ten. 

The  quantity  of  seed  to  sow  per  acre  depends  upon  the 
character  of  the  soil,  its  state  of  pulverization,  and  also 
upon  the  fact  whether  the  land  has  ever  been  seeded  to 
clover.  Upon  good,  fresh,  rich  soils  where  clover  has  not 
previously  grown,  one  bushel  for  eight  acres  will  be  suffi- 
cient. If  the  soil  is  thin  and  unproductive,  one  bushel  for 
six  acres  ought  to  be  sown.  If  the  land  has  been  regularly 
rotated  with  clover,  one-half  the  quantity  of  seed  mentioned 
above  will  suffice,  sometimes  much  less.  Clover  seed  owing 
to  the  large  quantity  of  oil  which  it  contains,  is  nearly  in- 
destructible when  placed  ten  or  twelve  inches  beneath  the 
surface.  I  once  purchased  a  field  which  had  been  cropped 
continuously  for  ten  years  without  rest,  and  almost  with- 
out any  rotation.  It  grew  a  crop  of  corn  the  year  before. 
I  purchased  it  in  February,  plowed  it  deeply  with  a  large 
three-horse  plow,  and  sowed  it  in  oats.  The  oat  crop  was 
excellent,  and  I  never  saw  clover  spring  up  so  thickly  upon 
any  land.  After  the  oats  were  harvested  the  clover  grew  to 
the  height  of  eighteen  inches,  and  covered  the  whole  field 
with  its  rich  mantle  of  green.  I  did  not  sow  one  seed  on 
it,  and  no  clover  had  been  permitted  to  grow  upon  it  from 
1859  to  1869,  the  year  I  seeded  it  to  oats. 

The  frequent  failure  to  secure  a  good  stand  of  clover  ad- 
monishes the  farmers  of  the  State  to  exercise  more  care  in 
the  seeding.  When  sown  late  in  the  spring  many  of  the 
seeds  sprout,  and  are  killed  by  dry  weather.  It  would  be 
all  the  better  if  the  clover  seed  could  be  buried  a  half-inch 
(or  even  an  inch  on  loose  soils)  beneath  the  surface  after  the 
middle  of  March.  The  common  practice  in  England,  is  to 
sow  not  only  clover,  but  all  other  grass  seeds,  with  oats  or 
barley,  in  spring.  After  the  seeds  are  sown  the  field  is  har- 


RED   CLOVEE.  519 

rowed  and  afterwards  rolled,  so  as  to  cover  the  seeds  and 
smooth  the  surface  of  the  field.  Farmers  are  often  too 
sparing  of  the  seed.  While  upon  well  prepared  soils  a 
bushel  to  eight  acres  is  sufficient,  yet  a  bushel  to  six  acres 
will,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  give  better  and  more  satisfac- 
tory results.  In  England  24  pounds  are  usually  sown  to 
the  acre  when  the  crop  is  intended  for  hay.  The  smaller 
the  stem  the  more  acceptable  it  is  to  cattle.  When  thin, 
the  woody  fibre  is  greatly  increased.  There  is  no  greater 
blunder  committed  by  the  farmer,  than  to  be  sparing  of 
grass  seed.  It  is  difficult  for  grass  to  be  too  thick.  The 
plants  shelter  one  another;  they  retain  all  the  dew  and 
moisture  when  thickly  set,  and  they  must  push  upward,  as 
there  is  no  lateral  space  to  occupy i 

GROWTH     AND   MANURE. 

Red  Clover  rarely  makes  much  growth  the  first  season  if 
sown  with  grain.  Should  the  weather  be  very  seasonable 
after  harvest,  and  the  land  fertile,  it  will  sometimes  attain  the 
height  of  thirty  inches  and  put  out  blooms,  making  an 
excellent  fall  pasture.  When  sown  alone,  it  will  always 
blossom  in  August. 

Sheep  are  very  injurious  to  young  clover,  and  should  never 
be  allowed  to  run  on  it  until  the  second  year.  Grasshop- 
pers, too,  often  eat  out  the  crown  and  destroy  it.  Dry 
weather  in  a  stubble  field  where  the  rays  of  the  sun  are  re- 
flected and  repeated  a  thousand  times  from  the  surface  of  the 
yellow  stubble,  is  very  trying  to  its  vitality.  Yet  if  the 
land  has  been  well  and  deeply  broken  and  is  moderately 
fertile,  a  sufficient  stand  may  be  depended  upon. 

As  soon  as  it  begins  to  grow,  in  early  spring,  an  applica- 
tion of  two  bushels  of  gypsum  or  land  plaster,  upon  granitic 
or  sandy  soils,  is  absolutely  necessary  to  get  a  good  growth. 

Some  interesting  experiments  were  made  in  Germany  by 
Dr.  Pincus,  respecting  the  action  of  gypsum  (sulphate  of 
lime)  upon  clover.  Three  plats  of  land  of  about  f  of  an 


520 


THE    GRASSES    OF   TENNESSEE. 


acre  each,  were  selected  in  May,  from  the  middle  of  a  large 
clover  field.  The  plants  were  then  about  an  inch  high. 
One  of  the  plats  was  manured  with  128  Ibs.  of  gypsum,  the 
second  with  the  same  quantity  of  sulphate  of  magnesia,  and 
the  intervening  plat  was  left  without  the  application  of 
any  fertilizer. 

On  the  plat  treated  with  gypsum  the  clover  plants  soon 
showed  a  deeper  green  and  a  more  vigorous  growth.  The 
clover  on  the  unmanured  plat  bloomed  four  or  five  days 
earlier  than  on  the  manured.  On  the  manured  plats  the 
clover  was  in  full  flower  on  May  24,  when  it  was  mown. 
The  results  were  from  each  plat 

Cwt.  of  Clover  Hay. 

Without  manure 21 . 6 

With  gypsum , 30.6 

With  sulphate  of  magnesia 82 . 4 

It  was  ascertained  by  a  closer  examination,  that  the  in- 
crease in  weight  obtained  from  the  plats  manured  with  the 
sulphate  did  not  extend  equally  to  all  parts  of  the  plant, 
but  was  greatest  in  the  production  of  stems.  There  were 
fewer  leaves,  fewer  flowers,  but  more  stems  on  the  manured 
than  on  the  unmanured  portions.  Taking  100  parts  of  hay 
the  following  results  were  obtained  : 


.| 

ps 

II- 

ONE  HUNDRED   PABTS    OP   CLOVER   HAY. 

1  a 

p. 

>> 

3«g  § 

^ 

2 

00   °    fl 

Flowers  

17.15 

11.72 

12  16 

Leaves 

27  45 

26  22 

25  28 

Stems     .         

55.40 

61  62 

6S  0 

Or  putting  in  another  form 


B 

, 

8 

s 

g 

ONE   HUNDRED   PARTS   OF   CLOVER   HAT. 

1 

i 

1 

E 

3 

QQ 

Clover  hay  unmanured 

17.15 

27  45 

55  40 

11.72 

26.22 

61.62 

Manured  with  sulphate  of  magnesia        

12.16 

25  28 

63  0 

EED   CLOVER. 


521 


This  shows  that  the  action  of  the  sulphates  increased  the 
woody  fibre  at  the  expense  of  the  flowers  and  leaves.  The 
relative  proportion  of  flowers,  leaves  and  stems  was  : 


g 

02 

o 

02 

o 

i 

1 

K 

H 

02 

Clover  hay  unmanured     

100 

160 

323 

11      manured  with  gypsum  

100 

216 

507 

*  '      manured  with  sulphate  of  magnesia  

100 

216 

538 

The  entire  crop  on  each  plat  was  as  follows : 


Unmanur'd 
Pounds. 

Manured 
with   gyp- 
sum. 
Pounds. 

Manured 
with  sul.  of 
magnesia. 
Pounds 

Leaves  

592.9 

773  7 

849.5 

Stems 

1196  6 

1927  8 

1996  5 

Flowers  ..... 

3VO  5 

358.5 

394.0 

2110  Ibs. 

8060  Ibs. 

3240  Ibs 

The  ash  constituents  were  increased  in  the  same  propor- 
tion as  the  crop.  Phosphoric  and  sulphuric  acids  were 
much  increased  in  quantity  above  the  other  ash  constituents. 
The  ash  of  the  air-dry  clover  hay  was : 


Unmanned 

Manured 
with  gyp- 
sum. 

Manured 
with  sul  of 
magnesia. 

Per  cent  

6.95 

7.96 

7.94 

In  the  entire  crop  

150      Ibs 

243      Ibs 

257       Ibe 

Containing  sulphuric  acid  

2        " 

8        " 

6        <; 

Containing  phosphoric  acid     

11.95  '• 

21  55  " 

21  82  " 

From  an  inspection  of  these  tables  it  will  readily  appear 
that  the  sulphates  checked  the  development  of  the  flowers 
and  also  of  seed.  A  larger  crop  of  leaves  and  stems  may 
be  secured  by  the  application  of  gypsum,  but  not  of  seed,  so 
that  an  application  of  gypsum  is  not  favorable  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  seed  crop,  but  well  suited  to  increase  the 


522  THE   GRASSES  OF    TENNESSEE. 

yield  of  hay.  Here,  as  is  often  seen  in  the  production  of 
wheat,  the  abnormal  development  of  straw  is  attended  with 
a  decrease  in  the  yield  of  seed. 

These  experiments  demonstrate  that  the  quantity  of  sul- 
phuric acid  applied  to  the  field,  bears  no  proportion  to  the 
increase  in  the  crop.  Baron  Liebig,  after  numerous  exper- 
iments made  with  gypsum  upon  clover,  comes  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  action  of  gypsum  is  very  complex ;  that  it 
indeed  promotes  the  distribution  of  both  magnesia  and  pot- 
ash in  the  soil.  He  thinks  that  gypsum  exercises  a  chemi- 
cal action  upon  the  soil,  which  extends  to  any  depth  of  it, 
and  that  in  consequence  of  the  chemical  and  mechanical 
modification  of  the  earth,  particles  of  certain  nutritive  ele- 
ments become  accessible  to  and  available  for  the  clover  plant, 
which  were  not  so  before. 

Though  having  my  mind  constantly  directed  to  this  point, 
I  have  rarely  found  an  application  of  gypsum  beneficial 
upon  clayey  loams,  but  its  effects  are  very  apparent  on 
strong  limestone  soils,  such  as  are  found  in  the  Central 
Basin.  On  the  chocolate-colored  soils  of  Warren,  Mont- 
gomery, Stewart  and  Robertson,  gypsum  benefits  clover 
very  little.  Upon  the  soils  of  the  Unaka  and  Cumberland 
mountains,  it  is  indispensable  to  secure  a  remunerative  yield 
of  foliage.  Red  Clover  has  two  growing  seasons.  It  makes 
its  most  vigorous  growth  from  the  first  of  April  until  the 
15th  of  June,  beginning  to  bloom  usually  in  the  central 
parts  of  the  State  about  the  15th  of  May,  and  attaining  it* 
full  inflorescence  about  the  1st  of  June.  After  this,  unless 
depastured  by  stock  or  cut  for  hay,  the  heads  begin  to  dry 
up,  and  stems  and  leaves  begin  to  fall,  forming  a  mat  upon 
the  land.  Sometimes  this  mat  is  so  thick  as  to  catch  and 
concentrate  the  heats  of  summer  to  such  a  degree  as  to  scald 
the  roots  and  destroy  the  clover.  Usually  it  is  best  after 
clover  has  attained  its  full  bloom,  either  to  cut  it  for  hay  or 
pasture  with  stock  until  about  the  first  of  July.  When  the 
stock  is  removed,  or  the  clover  hay  cured  and  taken  off,  and 


BED     CLOVEK.  523 

there  is  rain  enough,  a  second  crop  will  spring  up  from  the 
roots.  This  second  crop  is  the  most  valuable  for  seed,  the 
seed  maturing  about  the  last  of  August,  and  sooner,  if  there 
be  copious  rains.  To  make  the  most  abundant  yield  of  clo- 
ver for  grazing,  it  should  be  allowed  to  grow  all  it  will, 
but  never  let  it  make  seed,  always  grazing  it  down  when  in 
full  bloom.  When  grazed  down,  take  off  the  stock  until  it 
blooms  again.  Several  successive  crops  may  thus  be  made 
during  the  summer.  The  crop  of  August  is  unfit  for  graz- 
ing, the  large  quantity  of  seed  having  the  effect  of  salivat- 
ing stock  to  such  a  degree  as  to  cause  them  to  lose  flesh. 

It  is  a  fact,  well  attested  by  English  writers,  and  by  ob- 
servant farmers  of  this  country,  that  when  clover  has  been 
frequently  sown  upon  the  same  land,  it  not  only  fails  to 
produce  a  heavy  crop,  but  fails  to  appear  at  all.  The  land 
is  then  said  to  be  u  clover  sick."  The  remedy  for  this  i« 
by  extending  the  number  of  crops  in  the  scale  of  rotation, 
so  that  clover  will  not  come  so  often  upon  the  same  land. 
By  Liebig,  clover- sick  land  is  supposed  to  be  caused  by  the 
roots  of  clover  impoverishing  the  subsoil. 

Mr.  Keene,  of  England,  ascribes  the  failure  of  crimson 
clover  in  that  country  to  the  fact  that  only  clean  seed  is  sown. 
He  thinks  the  seed  should  be  sown  in  the  pellicle,  which 
acts  as  a  protection  to  the  young  plant.  The  hint  is  worthy 
of  a  trial.  Many  farmers  believe  that  fewer  failures  to  get 
a  catch  occur  when  the  seed  is  sown  in  the  chaff. 

Clover  has  no  superior  as  a  grazing  plant.  When  in  full 
vigor  and  bloom,  it  will  carry  more  cattle  and  sheep  per 
acre  than  blue  grass,  herds  grass  or  orchard  grass.  After 
it  has  been  grazed  to  the  earth,  a  few  showery  days  with 
warm  suns  will  cause  it  to  spring  up  into  renewed  vitality? 
ready  again  to  furnish  its  succulent  herbage  to  domestic  an- 
imals. Though  very  nutritious  and  highly  relished  by  cattle, 
it  often  produces  a  dangerous  swelling  called  hoven,  from 
which  many  cows  die.  When  first  turned  upon  clover,  cat- 
tle should  only  be  allowed  to  graze  for  an  hour  or  two,  and. 


524  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

then  be* driven  off  for  the  remainder  of  the  day,  gradually 
increasing  the  time  of  grazing,  until  they  become  less  vora- 
cious in  their  appetites,  never  permitting  them  to  run  upon 
clover  when  wet.  Clover  made  wet  by  a  rain  at  mid- 
day is  more  likely  to  produce  hoven  than  when  wet  by  dew- 
This  is  because  when  wet  by  rain  at  midday  or  after  the 
stalks  and  leaves  are  heated  by  the  sun,  when  taken 
into  the  stomach  of  a  cow,  this  heat  generates  fer- 
mentation much  sooner  than  when  the  herbage  is  cool, 
though  wet  with  the  morning  dew.  Cattle  are  more  easily 
affected  by  clover  than  horses,  because  being  ruminants, 
they  take  in  the  clover  rapidly,  filling  the  stomach  at  once, 
without  chewing.  Digestion  is  for  the  time  checked  and  a 
rapid  fermentation  sets  in.  The  remedy  found  most  effect- 
ive for  hoven  is  to  stick  a  sharp  pointed  knife  about  six 
inches  in  front  of  the  hip,  to  the  left  side  of  the  backbone, 
and  far  enough  from  it  to  miss  the  spinal  protuberances,  and 
in  the  thinnest  part  of  the  flank.  A  cow  should  never  be 
run  when  affected  with  hoven,  as  this  treatment  only  inten- 
sifies the  pain  without  affording  relief. 

Stock  should  never  be  turned  upon  clover  until  it  blooms 
The  practice  of  many  of  our  farmers,  to  turn  all  the  stock 
npon  a  clover  field  early  in  April,  is  very  destructive.  The 
crown  of  the  clover  is  eaten  out,  causing  it  to  perish.  The 
tread  of  heavy  cattle  has  the  same  effect. 

As  a  soiling  crop  Red  Clover  is  excelled  by  no  crop  grown 
within  the  State.  The  practice  of  soiling  in  thickly  set- 
tled communities  is  one  much  commended  by  agricultural 
writers.  An  half-acre  of  clover  will  supply  one  cow  through- 
out the  months  of  June,  July  and  August,  if  cut  off  and 
fed  in  a  stall,  while  twice  the  amount  in  pasture,  according 
to  some  English  experimenters,  will  barely  subsist  a  cow 
during  the  same  period,  and  this  will  depend,  of  course, 
upon  the  luxuriance  of  the  growth.  Soiling  (that  is  cut- 
ting the  grass  and  feeding  it  green)  is  a  very  desirable  prac- 
tice, near  small  towns,  where  many  persons  own  small 


RED    CLOVER.  525 

lots  and  desire  to  keep  a  milch  cow.     No  other  grass,  per- 
haps, will  produce  a  larger  flow  of  milk. 

NUTRITIVE  VALUE  AND  CONTITUENT  ELEMENTS  OF  CLOVER. 

The  nutritive  value  of  clover  was  long  known  by  feed- 
ers before  chemical  research  demonstrated  the  same  fact. 
It  contains,  when  cut  in  bloom,  nearly  4  per  cent,  more  ni- 
trogenous food  than  timothy,  and  four  and  a  half  per  cent, 
more  than  blue  grass.  According  to  Professors  Wolff  and 
Knop,  in  its  green  state  it  contains  800  parts  in  1,000,  of 
water ;  about  100  parts  more  than  timothy,  and  37  parts  in 
a  1,000  of  albuminoids  or  flesh  formers.  When  made  into 
hay,  cut  when  in  bloom  and  well  cured,  Red  Clover  contains 
134  parts  in  1,000  of  albuminoids,  but  cut  when  fully  ripe 
only  94  parts.  The  albuminoids  contain  about  16  per  cent, 
of  nitrogen.  Timothy  hay  has  9.7  per  cent,  of  flesh-form- 
ing matter,  and  therefore  contains  less  nitrogen,  in  the  pro- 
portion of  15  to  21,  than  clover  hay.  Barley  has  10  per 
cent,  of  albuminoids,  Indian  corn  10.7,  rye  11,  oats  12, 
clover  13.4  per  cent.,  so  that  it  appears  clover  hay  will  fur- 
nish more  muscle-producing  or  nitrogenous  food  than  either 
corn,  rye,  oats  or  timothy,  which  gives  strength  to  the  state- 
ments of  many  practical  farmers,  that  a  crop  can  be  made 
by  feeding  clover  hay  alone  to  the  working  animals,  and 
they  will  keep  up  under  it. 

Prof.  Way  gives  the  following  analysis  of  the  Eed  Clover 
when  green  : 

Water 81. 

Albuminoids 4.27 

Fatty  matter 69 

Heat  producing 8  45 

Woody  fibre ^ 3.76 

Ash 182 

One  hundred  pounds  dried  at  212  F;,  gives  the  following: 

Albuminoids  or  flesh-formers 22. 55 

Fatty  matter 3.67 

Heat-producers  (starch,  sugar,  gum,  etc.) 44.47 

Woody  fibre 19.75 

Ash .   9.56 


526  THE   GRASSES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  analysis  of  clover  hay  made  by  Dr.  Pincns  in  the 
course  of  his  experiments,  though  differing  slightly  in  its 
results  from  the  analyses  made  by  Wolff  and  Knop  and  Dr. 
Anderson,  is  far  more  interesting,  because  it  shows  the  rel- 
ative value  in  a  nutritive  point  of  view  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  plant.  The  analysis  is  given  in  the  subjoined 
table : 


BED   CLOVER. 


527 


O  rH 

10          ~ 


^  00    I  O 
t-  CO        O 


I  O  CO  rH  00  IO 
|  rH  rH  rH  <M  CO 


IO  IO  IO  ^  rH  I  O 
00  t-  CO  CO  T*   O 


8 


PH 

«  i 
ft  I 

KH      S 

« 


•sraa^g    TH  co'cocq  o 

rH  CO    rH  CO 


b-  O  TH  rH  00  I  O 

C?q  t-  05  00  <N  O 

"  id  co  |  o 

rHCO  O 


s  s 


!> 

3 


fe    1 
O    g 


cq  QO  t-  os  -^  |  o 

rH  O  Th  IO  b-    O 


IO  00  t-  t-  CO 
^  lO  OS  CO  ?D 


T*< 

10 


•sraajg 


s 

CO  05  CO  rH  OS  Jo 

--H  co   rH  oq  o 


IO  IO  IO  O  IO  I  O 
OS  00  09  t-  10  JO 

cq  od  «o 


rH  (N          rH  CO 


1O  CO  (N  O5 

O   CO  CC   IQ 


q      10 


10  »O  10  1O  O 
<M  IO  O  i—  1  O 


•sraa^g    cq  os*  id  d  co     o 

°       rH  CO          rH  CO        O 


Water 
Vegetable  fibre 
Mineral  constituents 
Flesh-formers 
Heat-produce 


c 

.a 
a 
%„ 

r^     f-l 
*     § 

V    ? 


Total  quantitie 
stances 
Proportion  of 
to  the  best  p 


528 


THE   GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 


Turnip  ... 

Fat. 
0  1  per  cent 

Wheat  kernel  .  .  . 

...     1.6        u 

Oat  .  .  . 

16        '• 

Indian  corn  .  .  . 

.  ..  7.0 

Pea  .. 

30        '• 

Cotton  seed  

..    34.           " 

Flax  

...34.           <{ 

The  proportion  of  fat  in  the  various  vegetable  products  is 
given  in  the  following  table  taken  from  Prof.  S.  W.  John- 
son's "How  Crops  Grow": 

Fat. 

Meadow  grass  0.8  percent 

Red  Clover  (green) 0.7 

Meadow  hay 3.0 

Clover  hay . 3.2 

Wheat  straw 1.5 

Oat  straw 2. 0 

Wheat  Bran 1.5 

Potato,   Irish 0.3 

It  appears  from  this  table  that  clover  hay  has  not  quite 
one-half  the  fat  of  Indian  corn,  but  having  more  albumi- 
noids it  has  nearly  3  per  cent,  more  nitrogenous  food.  Both 
should  be  fed  together,  the  clover  to  give  muscle  and  the 
corn  to  give  fat.  It  also  appears  that  the  clover  hay  is 
richer  in  fat  than  meadow  hay. 

EFFECTS   OF   CLOVER   UPON    SOILS — MANURE   FOR. 

Numerous  facts  have  taught  the  farmers  of  every  country 
where  agriculture  has  flourished,  that  in  many  cases  the 
value  of  the  after  crop  depends  upon  the  preceding  crop. 
In  other  words,  a  proper  rotation  is  a  necessary  antecedent 
to  successful  farming.  The  cultivation  of  some  crop  with 
extensive  root  ramifications,  will  prepare  the  soil  for  the 
subsequent  growth  of  a  cereal.  But  the  farmer  should  not 
deceive  himself.  Every  crop  takes  away  a  part  of  the 
available  plant-food,  and  the  field  has  not  increased  in  fer- 
tility, but  the  plant-food  has  been  made  more  rigidly  effect- 
ive for  the  production  of  a  crop.  "The  physical  and  chem- 
ical condition  of  the  fields  has  been  improved,  but  the 
chemical  store  has  been  reduced."  "All  plants"  says  Lie- 
big,  "without  exception,  exhaust  the  soil,  each  of  them  in  its 
own  way,  of  the  conditions  for  their  reproduction" 

A  field,  then,  which  produces  more  kindly  after  rotation, 
is  not  necessarily  more  fertile,  but  is  in  better  physical  con- 
dition. It  has  already  been  mentioned,  that  the  mechanical 


APPENDIX 


SCHEDULE  OF  QUESTIONS  SENT  OUT  AND 
ANSWERS  RECEIVED. 


No. 

Names  of  Correspondents. 

Post  Offices. 

Counties. 

1 

Geo.  T.  Allinan  

Cornersville  

Marshall 

2 

A  Kerr 

White  Bluff    

Dickson 

3 

A.  W.  Hawkins  

Huntingdon  

Carroll 

4 

Tyree  Rodes 

Wales  Station 

Giles 

5 

E.  D.  Hicks     .      .    . 

Nashville  

Davidson 

6 

J.  A.  Campbell  

Murfreesboro  

Rutherford 

7 

B  O  Nathurst 

Tracy  City 

Grundy 

8 

Col.  H.  L  Douglass 

Woodstock    

Shelbj 

9 

W.  T.  Garrett  

Manchester  

Coffee 

10 

O  P.  Butler 

Fountain  Head 

Sumner 

11 

T.  O  .  Harris  

SaundersvHle    

Surnner 

12 

W.  H.   Caldwell  

Rives  Station  

Ob  ion 

13 

J.  A    Turley 

Cog  Hill             .    .- 

MnMinn 

14 

Tom  Crutchfield 

Chattanooga     

Hamilton 

15 

W.  P,  Gant  

Columbia  

Maury 

16 

G.  W.  Boyd 

W^ayne  Furnace 

Wayne 

17 

R.  P.  Fickle  

Blountsville     

Sullivan 

18 

J.  Nat  Lyle  

Dandridge   

Jefferson 

19 

W.  G.  Shields 

Clinchdale 

Grainier 

9,0 

R.  F.  C.  Smith  

NewjMiddleton  .  . 

Smith 

21 

L.  P.  McMurry 

Trenton 

Gibson 

22 

W.  F.  Lenoir    

Philadelphia 

Loudon 

23 

Jno  M  Meek 

Strawberry  Plains 

Jefferson 

24 

Ephraim  Link      

Greeneville' 

Greene 

25 

E.  Y.  Salmon  

Lynchburg  '  . 

Moore 

26 

J.  T.  Allman 

Erin 

Houston 

27 

Thos.  W.  Jones. 

Friendship 

Dver 

28 

W.  H.  Killebrew  

St.  Bethlehem      .  .   . 

Montgomery 

29 

P.  A.  Mitchell  .     .. 

Jasper 

Marion 

80 

Jno.  T.  McClellan. 

Montrose  . 

Smith 

31 

C.  A.  Hunt  

Hunts  Station  

Franklin 

32 

Jno.  F.  Hauser  ,  

Gruetli 

Grundy 

29 

450 


APPENDIX, 


No. 

Names  of  Correspondents. 

Post  Office. 

Counties. 

qq 

Jno.  F.  Baxter  

Lynchburg  

Moore 

34- 

T  E  Abernathy 

Buford 

Giles 

q« 

Mark  S.  Cockrlil  

Nashville  ... 

Davidson 

qft 

L  F  Leiper 

'Witts  Foundry 

Hamblen 

VT 

Sa  ul  McKamsey       ...    . 

Vervilla 

Warren 

qft 

Thos.  G.  Moseley    

Bell  Buckle  

Bedford 

qq 

J  C   Marley 

Ripley 

Lauderdale 

4.0 

Carolina  

Haywood 

4-1 

E.  F.  Sharp  

Ten  Mile  Stand  

Meigs 

4-9 

Jno  T  Brown         

Obion  Station 

Obion 

40 

H    B.  Clay  

Rotherwood  

Hawkins 

A  A 

J  K  P  Wallace 

Andersonville 

Anderson 

AK 

C  W  L.  Mole       

Liberty  

DeKalb 

4-fi 

J   F.  Young  

Double  Bridges  

Lauderdale 

4.7 

E  G  Seawell      

Lebanon      .           .    . 

Wilson 

4.S 

J   B  Richmond,  M.D  

Baird's  Mills  

Wilson 

AQ 

Michael  Hoover        

Viola 

Coffee 

4r«J 
KC\ 

Murf  reesboro  

Rutherford 

Of 
ei 

Robt  P   Rhea  

Bluntville  

Sullivan 

Kft 

Whitesbury       

Hamblen 

Kq 

R  B   Hurt  

Jackson         

Madison 

K4. 

Campbell  Brown  

Spring  Hill  

Maury 

KK 

b    F    Tillman  

Henderson 

Madison 

oo 

Krt 

James  T  Pope             . 

Stephens'  Chapel 

Bledsoe 

Oo 

Kfr 

A  G  McDougal  

Savannah 

Hardin 

Of 

KO 

H   Skeeggs       

Mavnardville          . 

Union 

KQ 

A  B    Cummings     

Jonesborough 

Washington 

O\J 

fin 

JJIQ  p  Jopling  

Purdv 

McNairy 

fii 

Haynes        .         .... 

Union 

<>9 

Robt  C.  Nail  

Tiptonville  

Lake 

ftq 

W  H  Nelson    

White  Haven 

Shelby 

fid. 

J    Alley       

Walnut  Valley  

Sequatchie 

OK 

W  P    Small  wood  

Paris 

Henry 

fifi 

J   M  Noblett  

Boonville            

Lincoln 

«IT 

TT   Gresrorv 

La  Favette 

Macon 

o< 

(JO 

B  F  Cockrill  

Nashville 

Davidson 

HQ 

D   R  Hankins  

Lebanon        

Wilson 

TO 

J  M  Graham      

Pine-wood 

Hickman 

C   A  McDaniel  

Lincoln 

79 

.1   T  TraDD    .             ... 

Smithville     

DeKalb 

7q 

Thoq   S  Mvers 

McMinnville 

Warren 

T4. 

David  M  Scott  

Deoaturville      

Decatur 

*7K 

JA    Green 

James 

lO 

7ft 

Wm  Owen 

Marion 

77 

Fayette 

t  i 
7ft 

R  F  McDonald  

Smith's  X  Roads  .  .  .  . 

Rhea 

7Q 

Mn.  fiholflton 

rriflrksvillp 

Montgomery 

IV 

OA 

Carter 

01 

Gallatin 

Sumner 

on 

L  Howard  Bell     

Howard  Springs    .  .  . 

Cumberland 

ftS 

H.  B.  Greenwood  

Sweetwater  

Monroe 

APPENDIX. 


451 


No. 

Names  of  Correspondents. 

Post  Offices. 

Counties. 

84- 

J.  B.  Fancher      

Fancher's  Mills  

White 

85 

Joshua  Good 

Black  Wolf.    . 

Scott 

86 

Hamilton  Hord 

New  Canton  

Hawkins 

87 

I.  M   Stublefield  

Shady  Hill  

Henderson 

88 

W.  C  Trice     

Henderson  Station  .  .  . 

Henderson 

89 

Erby  Boyd 

Benton             

Polk 

90 

Joshua  Davis              .... 

Sneedville  

Hancock 

91 

Louis  Williams  

Newbern  

Dver 

99- 

John  J  Boon 

Jackson 

Madison 

93 

J  E  Washington 

Cedar  Hill  .    . 

Robertson 

94- 

L.  Cooper 

Coal  Field  

Morgan 

95 

J.  S.  Lindsay  

Jacksboro  

Campbell 

96 

H.  H.  Matlock  

Riceville  

McMinn 

97 

Thos    W.  Roane 

Covington 

Tipton 

98 

H.  H.  Ingersoll         

Greeneville  . 

Greene 

99 

Elijah  Dority  

Baker's  Gap    

Johnson 

100 

H.  M.  Polk  

Bolivar  

Hardeman 

101 

Wm.  Williams 

Edgefield 

Davidson 

10?, 

David  McCroskey 

Cleveland          .... 

Bradley 

108 

James  Lamon  .        

Harrison 

James 

104 

W.  G.  Ewin  

Hurricane  Mills. 

Humphreys 

105 

T.  W.  Edwards  

Linden  

Perry 

106 

R.  A.  Salsbury  

Stewart  

Houston 

107 

J.  C.  Murphy  

Sevierville 

Sevier 

452  APPENDIX. 


QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS. 


What  grasses  are  found  most  abundant  in  your  ranges  or 
highway  pastures?  If  a  variety,  give  the  month  in  which 
each  flourishes  ?  (Sedge  grass,  broom  sedge  and  old  field 
sedge  are  only  names  for  the  andropogons — a  true  grass, 
not  a  sedge). 

\   Nimble  will,  crab  grass,  broom  grass,  and  a  sprinkle  of  blue  grass. 

2  The  natural  grasses;  crab  grass  makes  a  good  hay;  wild  pea  vine. 

3  Great  variety;  cannot  answer  definitely. 

4  Blue  grass  in  fall,  winter  and  spring;  fox   tail  and  crab   grass  in 

summer. 

5  Can't  name  any  except  nimble  will  a  late  grass 

6  Blue  grass  is  found  everywhere  it  has  a  chance  to  grow. 

7  Peas  and  some  varieties  of  blue  grass. 

8  Nimble  will  and  sedge  grass,    spring,  wire  grass  and  many  wild 

grassep. 

9  Sedge  grass  burnt  off  early,  abundant  in  June. 

10  Swamp  grass  in  winter,  the  rye  barren  grass  are  the  most  prevalent. 

11  Blue  grass  and  white  clover  all  the  year. 

12  Blue  grass  on  high  and  nimble  will  on  low;  some  cane  and  pea  vine. 

13  Sedge  grass  and  blue  grass  are  taking  hold  in  some  places. 

14  Sedge  grass  and  white  clover,  as  also  a  small  yellow  clover  plant. 

15  We  have  no  ranges  or  highway  pastures. 

16  The  range  here  is  excellent,  with  a  great  deal  of  wild  grasses  the 

year  round. 


APPENDIX.  453 

17  Blue  grass  and  sedge  the  most  common;  grows  early  and  late;  sedge 

too  common  and  ought  to  be  killed  out. 

18  Not  much  of  any;  blue  grass  is  inclined  to  grow  spontaneously. 

19  Blue  grass  flourishes  best  in  early  spring,  summer  and  autumn. 

20  Nimble  will,  summer,  blue  grass  and  white  spring  clover. 

21  Nimble  will  most  abundant  and  most  nutritious  in  the  fall  when  the 

seed  ripens. 

22  Sedge. 

23  A  variety  of  wild  grasses,  some  blue  grass. 

24  Blue  grass,  crab  grass,  sedge  grass. 

25  None  of  any  value.  » 

26  Tie  out  growing  grasses  are  most  flourishing  in  May,  June  and  July. 

27  Nimble  will  is  the  best,  puts  up  in  the  spring  and  lasts  through  the 

summer. 

28  Along  highways  blue  grass  is  common,  nimble  will  in  creek  bottoms 

29  Mountain  grass,  one  variety,  know  no  name  for  it. 

30  Blue  grass  most  abundant,  flourishes  all  the  year  except  when  the 

ground  is  frozen 

31  Something  like  the  sedge;  there  are  two  or  three  kinds. 

32  Cannot  tell  the  names. 

33  Nimble  will  in  May. 

34  Blue  grass  grows  both  along  the  highways  and  creek  bottoms;  white 

clover  next. 

35  White  clover  and  blue  grass,  white  clover,  first  July;  blue' grass   all 

the  year  except  July  and  August. 

36  Very  little  grass  grows  outside  of  enclosures. 

37  Sedge  grass  has  been,  but  is  rather  giving  way  to  red  clover,  which 

lasts  from  May  to  October. 

38  Blue  grass,  almost  universally. 

39  Nimble  will,  pea  vine  and  swamp  grass,  that  puts  up  early. 

40  Nimble  will  and  other  coarse,  useless  grasses  only  good  when  young 

and  tender. 

41  Our  wild  grasses  grow  from  April  to  October. 

42  Nimble  will,  a  very  fine  grass,  nutrititious  till  frost. 

43  Our  ranges  have  a  tough  wire  grass  and  pea  vine,  also  broom  sedge. 

44  Our  ranges  are  principally  under  brush,  huckleberry  auu  wild  grasses. 

45  Blue  grass  in  spring,  and  nimble  will  in  summer 

46  What  is  known  here  as  yard  or  goose  grass,  nimble  will  on  rich  land. 

47  Blue  grass  spring  and  fall. 

48  Blue  grass,  white  clover,  nimble  will  and  a  tough  grass  that  grows 

finely  in  the  cedar-. 

49  Barren  grass,  which  affords  an  abundance  grass  from  April  to  15th 

of  July. 


454  APPENDIX. 

50  Blue  grass  is  becoming  thick  on  our  highways. 

51  Sedge  grass  in  April  and  May,  if  burnt  early;  blue  grass. 

52  Crab  grass  in  June  and  July,  sedge  grass  July  and  August. 

53  Nimble  will  is  a  fine  summer  and  early  fall,  grows  on  rich  bottom 

lands. 

54  Much  the  same  as  above. 

55  Sedge  grass,  and  what  is  called  here,  Japanese  clover. 

56  We  have  a  variety  of    grasses  on  our  mountains  which  flourish  well 

all  summer, 

57  Nimble  will,  sedge  grass  and  barren  grass. 

58  No  grasses  unless  cultivated.  f 

59  But  little  range  on  our  highways,  90  per  cent,  of  the  land  enclosed. 

60  All  kinds  there  bein a:  good  grasses  on  the  ranges  throughout  the  year. 

61  Grasses  abundant  on  the  mountains  in  May  and  June.    , 

$2  Quite  a  variety,  blue  grass  in  April  and  May,  nimble  will  in  August 
and  September. 

63  No  grasses  of  any  value  are  found  unenclosed  except  hi  limited  areais 

64  Sedge  grass  flourishes  all  summer. 

65  Nimble  will  grows  along  the  creeks  in  summer  and  fall;  do  not  know 

the  names  of  the  other. 

66  Blue  grass. 

67  Sedge  grass. 

68  Blue  grass;  all  enclosed,  orchard  in  early  spring,  blue  grass  in  the  fall . 

69  Blue  grass;  this  grass  has  taken  the  place  of  all  others. 

70  Am  not  acquainted  with  the  names;  barren  grasses  in  summer;  beg- 

gar lice  fall. 

71  Nimble  will,  crab  grass  on  lime  soils,  sedge  on  the  ridge  or  barrens. 

72  Crab  grass,  nimble  will;  blue  grass  flourishes  in  May. 

73  Broom  sedge,  mountain  sedge,  rowine,  nimble  will  in  the  coves  of 

the  mountains. 

74  There  are  various  wild  grasses,  but  know  no  particular  names. 

75  Sedge  grass,  beggar  lice;  sedge  fine  from  April  to  July. 

76  Broom  sedge  from  April  till  frost. 

77  We  have  a  variety  of  grasses  which  I  cannot  Lame;  blue  grass  and 

white  clover  are  among  them. 

8  I  do  not  know  any  name  except  mountain  grass  which  is  most  abun- 
dant from  April  15,  to  frost. 

79  Blue  grass  in  some  parts  of  the  county,  in  other  sections  a  grass  re- 

sembling prairie  grass. 

80  Sedge  grass 

81  Blue  grass  has   possession   of  the   most  of  our  highways;    white 

clover  in  the  spring  and  summer. 


APPENDIX.  455 

82  About  a  dozen  different  kinds;  cannot  give  their  botanical   names. 

83  Old  field  sedge;  no  native  grass;  cattle  on  the  highways  feed  upon 

leaves  and  buds. 

84  Different  kinds  of  sedge,  principally  brooni  sedge,  flourishes  in  June. 

85  Pea  vine  in  September  and  October. 

86  Chiefly  blue  grass. 

87  Sedge  grass,  barren  grass  and  a  few  other  wild  grasses. 

88  Sedge,  and  what  we  call  nimble  will;  sedge  best  in  early  spring. 

89  Sedge  grass  from  April  to  October. 

90  Blue  grass  from  April  to  June;  red  top  the  same. 

91  A  coarse  grass  known  as  barren  grass. 

92  It  is  very  difficult  to  answer  this,  as  the  wild  grasses  have  no  estab- 

lished names. 

93  Broom  sedge,  June  and  July. 

94  A  grass  much  resembling  sedge,  with  a  broader  blade,  flourishes  att 

the  season. 

95  Sedge  grass  best  in  spring  and  early  summer;    we  have  a  kind  of 

Savannah  grass,  that  is  very  early. 

96  Sedge. 

97  Goose  or  yard  grass  from  March  to  July,   nimble  will,  a  superior 

grass,  very  much  like  blue  grass,  lasts  from  April  to  frost. 

98  Sedge  grass,  March  to  June;  wild  blue  grass;  perennial. 

99  The  mountains  bordering  our  counties  adjoining  N.   C.  &  Va.   af- 

ford fine  grazing;  the  bald  places  producing  blue  grass  and  white 
clover,  and  many  kinds  of  valuable  wild  grasses,  exceedingly  nu- 
tritious, and  flourishing  all  summer. 

100  Crab  grass  from  May  to  November,  broom  sedge  and  a  variety  un- 

known to  me.  Within  the  last  few  years  blue  grass  has  begun 
to  make  its  appearance,  and  lespedeza  stritata  (worthless,)  is  cov- 
ering the  unworked  commons. 

101  White  clover  and  blue  grass  in  early  spring;  crab  grass  and  nimble 

will  in  summer. 

102  Sedge  grass,  both  in  enclosed  and  timbered  land  is  the  prevailing 

grass. 

103  Wire  grass  and  sedge,  these  are  invincible  and  answer  for  general 

use. 

]  04  A  weed  grass,  the  name  of  which  I  do  not  know. 
1®5  I  am  not  familiar  with  the  names  of  grasses,  depends  much  on  tke 

seasons. 

106  Sedge  grass,  blue  grass,  white  clover  are  coming  up  through  the 

timber. 

107  Clover  and  herds  grass,  or  brown  sedge  burnt  off  in  early  spring. 


456  APPENDIX. 

What  grasses  are  sown  for  pastures,  and  which  do  you 
consider  the  best  for  that  purpose  ? 

1  Blue,  orchard,  and  other  grasses.     Blue  grass  first,  orchard  second. 

2  Very  few  pastures  sowed.     Those  that  are,  generally  mixed  grasses. 

3  Red-top,  clover  and  orchard  grass.     White  clover  grows  sponta- 

neously. 

4  Orchard  grass,  blue  grass,  herds  grass  and  clover.     Blue  grass  best. 

5  Blue  grass,  orchard  and  herds  grass.     Blue  grass  best. 

6  Blue  grass,  orchard  and  herds.     Timothy  and  clover  best. 

7  Clover  and  herds  grass. 

8  Orchard  for  timbered  land.     Herds  on  marshy  lands.     Timothy  on 

rich  up  lands. 

9  Blue  and  orchard  grass.     Blue  in  the  western  part  of  the  country, 

10  Blue  grass  and  red-top,  orchard  grass. 

11  Clover,  blue  and  orchard.     Blue  the  best.     All  should  be  sown  to- 

gether. 

12  Clover  is  mostly  used.     I  consider  blue  grass  the  best  the  season 

round. 

13  Red-top,  orchard  and  blue  grass.     The  last  two  the  best. 

14  Clover,  orchard,  timothy,  herds.     Clover  and  orchard  best, 

15  Orchard,  blue  and  clover.     Orchard  for  open  fields  and  wood  land. 

16  Clover.     Clover  the  best. 

17  Clover  and  blue  grass.     Cock's  foot  on  uplands,  Randall  and  red-top 

on  wet  lands. 

18  For  high  land,  timothy  and  clover,  mixed.     For  bottoms,  herds 

and  clover. 

19  Blue  grass  and  orchard.     The  latter  the  best.    -Also  red-top  and 

clover. 

20  Blue  grass,  orchard,  red-top  and  clover. 

21  Clover,  red-top  and  orchard.     Each  good  in  its  season. 

22  Clover,  herds,  blue  and  timothy.     Orchard  is  coming  into  use,  arid 

as  far  as  tried,  is  thought  best  of  all. 

23  Orchard,  clover  and  timothy.     For  permanent  pasture,  orchard  the 

best. 

24  Clover  most.     Lately,  orchard  grass  is  receiving  much  attention,  it 

and  late  meadow  oat  grass  mixed  are  superior  to  any  others. 

25  Blue  grass  and  orchard  grass. 

26  Timothy  and  herds  grass  considered  the  best. 

27  Timothy,  herds  grass,  clover,  millets,  corn  fodder,  sheaf  oats  and 

and  corn      I  prefer  timothy  for  roughness. 

28  Clover,  herds  and  orchard  grasses     Clover  and  orchard  best  for 

grazing. 


APPENDIX.  457 

29  Orchard,  herds  grass  and  clover.     Orchard  grass  best. 

30  Blue,  herds  and  orchard  grasses,  clover.      Blue  grass  much  the 

best,  though  orchard  does  well  on  lands  partly  timbered. 
81  Heel-top,  clover,  orchard.     Clover  mostly  sown  for  orchards. 

32  Red  clover,  orchard  and  red-top.     Nos.  2  and  8  best. 

33  Blue  grass  and  orchard. 

34  Clover,  blue  grass,  herds  grass  and  orchard.     The  best  in  the  order 

named. 

35  Blue  grass,  clover  and  orchard.     Blue  grass  for  winter,  cloyer  and 

orchard  for  summer 

36  Red  clover,  orchard  and  timothy  mixed 

37  Clover,  red-top  and  millet.     Clover  best  for  three  months.     Red- 

top  preferable  for  the  whole  season. 

38  Blue  grass,  orchard.     Herds  grass  for  permanent  pastures. 

39  Herds  grass,  clover,  timothy.     Herds  grass  and  clover  best. 

40  Clover,  herds  and  orchard  grass. 

41  Herds  grass,  orchard  and  timothy.     All  good. 

42  Red  clover,  timothy,  herds,  blue  grass.     Clover  and  orchard  best. 

43  Orchard,  Randall,  blue  grass,  timothy,  clover,  herds  grass.     The 

first  three  the  best. 

44  Clover. 

45  Clover,  blue,  orchard      Think  clover  and  orchard  the  best. 

46  Orchard,  herds,  timothy  and  clover.     I  like  a  mixture  of  all  the 

above.     Alone,  clover  makes  more  feed  while  it  lasts. 

47  Blue  and  orchard  grass  and  clover. 

48  Blue  and  orchard  the  best.     Herds  makes  a  fine  clover. 

49  Clover  and  herds  grass.     I  consider  clover  the  best. 

50  Clover,  blue  grass  and  some  orchard.     A  liberal  quantity  of  each, 

best  for  pastures. 

51  Timothy,  clover,  orchard,  Randall,  blue  and  red-top  perhaps  the 

best. 

52  We  have  three  grasses  that  we  use  for  pasture,  clover,  timothy  and 

blue  grass.     Orchard  is  being  introduced. 

53  Orchard  and  red- top  combined,   is  generally  preferred.     I  prefer 

clover  and  timothy. 

54  Clover,  blue,  orchard  and  red-top.     Could  not  do  without  either. 

Blue  grass  probably  the  best. 

55  Clover,  orchard,  blue  grass  and  red-top.     A  mixture  of  all  these  I 

think  best  for  pastures. 

56  Clover,  timothy,  red-top,  blue  grass,  orchard.     Clover  makes  the 

best. 

57  Clover  and  orchard  grass. 

58  Red-top,  clover,  orchard,  and  ever-green  grasses. 


458  APPENDIX. 

59  Orchard  grass  and  dog  foot  are  preferable  for  grazing  purposes. 

60  Herds  and  orchard  grasses  and  red-top. 

61  Clover,  timothy,  orchard  and  blue  grass.     All  good  for  pasture. 

62  Clover,  orchard  and  blue  grass.     Three  or  more  mixed 

63  Orchard,  red-top  for  whiter.     Rye,  oats,  crab-grass  grazed  in  sum- 

mer. 

64  Clover  and  orchard  grass  thought  to  be  best. 

65  Red  clover,  orchard  and  herds  grasses. 

66  Blue  and  orchard. 

67  In  the  southern  portion  of  the  county  blue  grass,  and  upon  the 

thinner  soil,  herds  grass  and  sedge  grass. 

68  Orchard,  blue  and  red-top  grasses,  on  low  lands,  especially  where 

damp. 

69  Blue  grass,  orchard,  clover  and  red-top.     Best,  blue  grass;  second, 

orchard;  third,  clover. 

70  Red  clover,  white  clover,  orchard  and  blue  grass.     I  prefer  a  mix- 

ture of  all. 

71  Blue  grass  and  orchard  for  permanent  pastures,  and  clover  for 

summer. 

72  Blue,  herds  and  orchard  grasses.     Blue  the  best  for  pasture. 

73  Herds  grass  and  clover,  also  blue  and  orchard,     The  first  two  best 

for  use. 

74  Herds  grass. 

75  Clover,  herds.     Blue  and  orchard  grasses  are  very  good. 

76  Orchard,  clover  and  red-top.     Orchard  has  no  equal  for  pasture. 

77  None  except  to  a  limited  extent.     Clover  and  red-top  mixed  does 

well,  orchard  better. 

78  Timothy,  herds  grass,  clover,  orchard  and  blue  grass.     The  best  is 

a  mixture  of  the  three  first. 

79  Clover,  red-top  and  orchard.     Orchard  grass  the  best. 

80  Timothy  and  herds  grass.     The  former  is  regarded  best. 

81  Blue  grass,  orchard  and  clover.     Blue  grass  best. 

82  Same  as  above,  (red-top,  timothy,  clover) 

83  Clover,  red-top  and  orchard. 

84  Clover,  herds  grass.     Occasionally  orchard. 

85  All  kinds  of  grass,  except  millet,  Hungarian  and  clover. 

86  Timothy,  orchard,  Randall  and  herds  grass  mixture  of  all. 

87  Herds  grass,  orchard  and  clover.     Clover  and  orchard  best. 

88  Herds  grass,  orchard  and  timothy.     Best,  herds  grass;  second,  or- 

chard. 

89  Red-top,  clover,  orchard  grass.     Orchard  the  best. 

90  Blue  grass  or  orchard  and  clover. 

91  Red  clover,  herds  grass,  orchard,  blue  grass.     Best,  clover,  mixed 

with  red-top  or  orchard. 


APPENDIX.  459 

92  Orchard  and  blue  grass. 

93  Blue  grass,  orchard,  clover  and  red-top.     Orchard  the  best  pasture. 

94  Clover  and  red-top  are  all  that  is  used  in  this  county.     Clover  the 

best,  if  it  would  last. 

95  All  the  common  grasses  are  used  for  grazing.     Clover  and  orchard 

best. 

96  Clover,  red-top,  orchard  grass.     Orchard  best. 

97  Herds  grass,  clover,  timothy.     The  last  two  mixed  with  orchard. 

For  permanence,  herds,  timothy,  orchard. 

98  Blue  grass,  orchard  and  herds  grass. 

99  Blue  grass,  red-top  and  red  clover.     All  considered  good.     Blue 

grass  best. 

100  I  consider  the  only  way  to  have  a  good  and  permanent  meadow  or 

pasture,  is  to  sow  a  mixture  of  grasses,  the  more  the  better,  and 
a  good  sod  will  scarcely  be  formed  under  10  or  15  years. 

101  Blue  and  orchard  grass  and  clover. 

102  Orchard  and  herds  grass. 

103  Blue  grass. 

104  Orchard,  timothy  and  herds.     Orchard  makes  the  best  pasture. 

105  Herds  grass  and  orchard.     The  latter  preferable. 

106  Millet  and  Hungarian,  blue  grass  and  red-top. 

107  Clover.     Have  just  commenced  with  orchard,  but  believe  it  to  be 

good. 

Please  mention  what  character  of  soils  these  grasses  flour- 
ish best  upon  ? 

•  .V-" 

1  Blue  grass  on  lime-stone  soil,  orchard  on  all  our  lands. 

2  On  creek  alluvial  bottoms,  and  red  clay  subsoil,  uplands. 

3  Loamy  uplands  or  bottoms. 

4  All  the  above  grasses  flourish  best  on  creek  bottom  lands.     Herds 

on  wet  land. 

5  Blue  grass  requires  lime-stone   soil.     Orchard   shade.     Herds  any- 

where. 
6 

7  Millet  and  herds  grass  do  well  on  best  of  mountain  land. 
8 
9  Herds  grass,  clay  soil.     Orchard  does  well  on  the  same. 

10  Red-top  on  swampy  land.     Blue  grass  on  rich  loamy  land. 

11  Lime-stone  land  for  blue  grass;  clover  and  orchard  grass  adapted 

for  all  soils. 

12  On  high  lands      Poplar  and  hickory  growth   for  clover  and  blue 

grass;  low  lands  for  red-top  and  timothy. 


460  APPENDIX. 

13  Orchard  and  blue  grass  for  shaded  lands.     Red-top  for  damp,  cold 

lands. 

14  The  above  grasses  grow  well  on  both  bottom  and  uplands. 

15  Clover  on  any  of  our  soils.     Millet  and  herds  require  a  better  soil 

than  clover. 

16  Red-top  and  Randall,  wet  or  damp  land.     Clover,  blue  grass,  dog- 

foot  and  timothy  uplands  and  well  drained  land. 

17  Black  slate  or  lime-stone.     Almost  all  the  land  of  this   «ounty  will 

do. 

18  Limestone  and  the  best  character  of  clay  soils. 

19  Red-top  on  wet  lands.     Blue  grass,    clover  and  timothy  on  lime- 

stone. 
20 

21  Clay  loam. 

22  Timothy  and  herds  grass  on  flat,  wet  lauds;   other  kinds,   clay  and 

alluvial  soils 

23  Bottom  for  timothy  and  red-top.     Limestone   land  for  orchard  .and 

clover. 

24  On  compact  clay  soil.     Mulatto,  if  not  too  low  and  porous. 

25  Blue  grass  on  limestone.     Orchard  on  poplar  land. 

26  Good  upland,  but  I  think  bottom  land  is  better. 

27  Timothy  does  best  on  rich  uplands.     Herds  on  bottom  or  flat  land. 

28  On  any  having  red  clay  subsoil. 

29  Orchard  and  clover  on  dry  alluvial  soil.     Herds  on  low  tight  soil. 

30  They  do  well  on  any  soil  not  worn  out  though  best  on  hill  side. 

31  Red-top  does  best  on  low  swamp  land.    The  others  require  better 

soil. 

32  A  porous  sandy  soil  mixed  with  lime  and  underlaid  with  clay. 

33  Limestone  and  poplar  land. 

34  Clover,  blue  grass  and  orchard  on  all  lime  soils.     Herds   on  most 

bottom  lands. 

35  Limestone  soil  with  red  clay  subsoil. 

36  Rich  clay  soils.     Timothy  and   herds  grass  do  best  on  level  land 

along  water  courses. 

37  Clover  does  well  on  any  good  soil.     Red-top  does  best  on  bottom 

land. 

38  On  any  of  our  limestone  soils  not  too  much  worn  out. 

39  Low  lands  are  best  for  herds  grass  and  timothy;  uplands  for  millet 

and  corn. 

40  Rich  bottom  loam,  but  clover  succeeds  well  on  high  land  with  good 

soil. 

41  Herds  grass  on  low,  clover  on  high,  timothy  on  both. 

42  Clover  and  orchard  best  on  biaci;  loam.     Herds  on  bottom  lands. 

43  The  limit  of  this  space  will  not  admit. 


APPENDIX.  461 

44  Any  kind  not  too  much  exhausted. 

45  Blue  grass  is  best  on  north  Jand,  and  orchard  on  south  land. 

46  We  have  no  soil  in  our  county  that  they  do  not  do  well  upon,  unless 

too  poor  or  too  wet. 

47  Blue  grass  and  clover  do  best  on  rich  limestone  soil.     Orchard  grass 

will  flourish  on  any  soil. 

48  Clover,  orchard,  blue  and  herds  grasses  on  upland ;  timothy  on  flat 

or  creek  land. 

49  A  low  wet  soil  suits  herds  grass,  but  it  will  flourish  on  any  kind  of 

soil.  .    ' 

50  A  good  upland  with  clay  subsoil.     Blue  grass  loves  plenty  of  lime 

v  in  the  soil. 

51  Randall  and  red-top  on  wet  moist  land. 

52  Tight  clay  soil.    The  land  that  gets  the  muddiest  in  the  winter  is 

the  best. 

53  Our  best  uplands.     Red-top  will  do  well  on   lands  subject  to  over- 

flow. 
5€  Our  rolling  limestone  lands  seem  best. 

55  What  we  term  second  bottoms,  just  above  the  overflow,   best  for 

herds  grass. 

56  Clay  land  and  black  stiff  limestone.     Red- top  does  well  on  low 

sandy  soil. 

57  For  clover,  good  upland,  well  manured.     For  orchard,    rich  light 

soil,  well  cleaned. 

58  Low  or  wet  lands.    If  high  lands,  clay  or  limestone  lands,  best. 

59  What  we  call  dark  mulatto  uplands  and  creek  bottoms. 

60  Damp  clay  soil  for  herds ;   clover  grows  well  on  any  except  xsandy 

soil. 

61  Clover  on  black  lime  land.     Timothy  on  gray  alluvial  soil. 

62  Clover  and  blue  grass  on  clay.    Orchard  on  a  mixed  loam. 

63  Orchard  on  our  uplands,    partially  shaded.     Marshy   land  for  red. 

top. 

64  Clay  soil  impregnated  with  lime. 

65  Clay  or  stiff  land. 

66  Black  land. 

(57  Blue  grass  and  herds  are  best  upon  rich  soil.     Large  grass  best  up- 
on poor  soil. 

68  Limestone  with  clay  understrata  for  the  three  named  above. 

69  Bottom  lands  with  the  greatest  quantity  of  lime  in  it, 

70  Rich  uplands  or  second  bottoms. 

71  Blue  grass  does  best  on  stiff  lime  soils.     Orchard  on  loose  shaded 

soil. 

72  Black  low  lands,  but  grows  well  on  most  lands  in  the  county. 

73  Limestone  land  for  timothy  and  blue  grass.  Herds  grows  anywhere. 


462  APPENDIX. 

74  Herds  grass  grows  well  on  rather  wet  lands,  but  will  grow  on  up- 

lands. 

75  Yellow  dark  uplands  and  bottom  lands  ;  grows  fine  on  our  uplands. 

76  On  all  limestone  soils  of  the  valley. 

77  Most  of  the  soil  of  this  county  is  alluvial,  resting  on   a  good   clay 

subsoil,  and  is  well  adapted  to  all  the  grasses. 

78  Upon  limestone  land  that  is  very  close  and  gets  hard. 

79  Timothy  does  best  on  rich  creek   and  river  bottoms,   intermixed 

with  but  little  sand. 

80  They  grow  well  on  all  uplands. 

81  Limestone  with  a  good  clay  foundation. 

82  Sandy  loam.     Clay  loam.     The  first  for  clover  only. 

83  Red-top  on  low  marshy;  clover  on  tight  clay  subsoil,  mulatto  loam. 

84  Herds  grass  on  sand;   clover  on  red  clay  lands ;   orchard  on  corn 

land. 

85  Low  river  bottom  for  millet,  Hungarian  and  clover. 

86  All  alluvials  not  too  sandy,  and  limestone  clays. 

87  Clay  lands  that  are  not  much  worn. 

88  Herds  grass  on  low  damp.     Orchard  on  tight  loam. 

89  Well  drained  rich  clay  lands. 

90  On  limestone  or  low  land,  when  the  soil  is  good 

9 1  All  of  our  soils  are  clay  loam  on  which  all  the  above  grasses  do  well. 

92  Dark  soils  with  yellow  clay  subsoils,  and  rather  moist. 

93  The  three  first  flourish  on  our  lands  generally,  but  red-top  is  the 

best  for  thin  or  worn  land. 

94  Clover  on  clay  and  mulatto  land.     Red-top  on  black  sandy  land 

95  Limestone  soil  is  best  for  timothy  and  clover.     Herds  grass  does 

well  on  lighter  soil  and  sandstone. 

96  Red-top  will  grow  anywhere.     Orchard  best  on  rich  soil      Clover 

almost  anywhere  by  using  plaster. 

97  Alluvial  and  moist.  Herds  does  well  on  old,  worn,  clay  hill  sides,  if 

started  by  fertilizers 

98  Tight  close  soils ;  especially  clay  bottoms. 

99  Limestone  soils  and  all  clay  soils  that  are  rich.    None  of  our  sand- 

stone ridges  or  soils  are  good  for  grasses. 

100  In  West  Tennessee  they  flourish  on  lands  with  good   clay  founda- 

tions ;  do  badly  on  porous  sandy  soils, 

101  Rich  loam  with  clay  underneath. 

i 

102  Orchard  grass  best  on  mulatto  land.     Herds  on  low  damp  land. 

103  They  do  very  well  on  limestone,  but  better  on  alluvial  soils. 

104  Timothy  and  herds  grass  do  best  on  low  wet  lands.     Orchard  does 

well  anywhere. 

105  Our  best  upland  soils  for  orchard,  and  good  bottom  lands  for  herds. 


APPENDIX.  463 

106  Seem  to  grow  well  upon  most  any  soil. 

107  A  whitish  clay,  thin  knob  lands,  that  is,    rough  and  slaty  or  close 

mulatto. 


What  kinds  of  hay  or  feed,  other  than  grasses,  are  used 
during  the  ploughing  season,  and  which  do  you  consider 
the  best  ? 

1  Mostly  corn  blades.     Some  feed  oats.     No  better  feed  for  horses. 

2  Fodder  and  corn,  with  clover  and  timothy  for  a  change.     Hay  and 

oats  best  fodder. 

3  Corn  fodder,  corn,  red-top  and  millet  hay. 

4  Corn  fodder,  clover,  herds  grass  and  timothy      Corn  fodder  best. 

5  Corn  fodder  and  timothy,  or  herds  grass.    Timothy  and  herds  grass 

hay. 

6  Grain  and  hay.     A  change  of  oats,  wheat-bran  best  with  plenty  of 

hay. 

7  Timothy  hay. 

8  Corn  fodder  and  oats,  timothy  and  red-top  hay.     Hay  and  oats 

preferable. 

9  I  consider  well-cured  fodder  the  best  food  for  horses  in  warm 

weather. 

10  Oats  and  corn  fodder.     Clover  hay  is  the  best  food  for  all  purposes. 

11  Such  hay  as  may  be  on  hand.     Nothing  better  than  corn  and  clover 

hay. 

12  Corn  shucks  and  oat  straw  cut  up  and  mixed  with  meal,  is  good. 

Oats  the  best. 

13  All  the  different  kinds  of  hay,  corn  and  oats.     None  better  than 

clover  and  orchard  grass  mixed. 

14  Millet  and  ether  hay  with  fodder  and.  oats.     Red-top  and  timothy 

with  fodder,  best. 

15  Oats  and  fodder  are  both  used,  but  oats  are  the  best. 

16  Fodder.     I  prefer  good  clover  and  herds  grass  hay. 

17  Mixed  feed.     Cut  oats,  hay  and  millet  with  some  corn.     Food  not 

too  much  varied,  best  for  health. 

18  Corn  fodder,  wheat  straw. 

19  Corn,  oats,  blade  fodder.     Consider  oats  chopped,  best. 

20  Corn  fodder,  oats,  Hungarian  and  German  millet. 

21  Corn  blade  fodder  is  principally  used,  and  generally  considered 

best. 

22  All  ordinary  kinds  of  hay,  corn  and  oats.     Oats  and  clover  hay 

best. 


464  APPENDIX. 

23  Clover  and  timothy  is  best.     Corn  fodder,  shucks,  straw  and  sheaf 

oats. 

24  Corn  fodder,  millet,  sheaf  oats  and  meal  together,  too  often  corn 

alone. 

25  Clover,  oats  and  fodder. 

26  Corn  and  corn  fodder  mostly  used  in  the  ploughing  season. 

27  Timothy,  herds  grass,  clover,  millet,  corn  fodder,  sheaf  oats. 

28  Oats  and  fodder,  millet,  oats,   best.     Fodder  from  corn  next  in 

value. 

29  Clover,  herds  grass,  timothy,  orchard.     Clover  and  timothy. 

30  Corn,  clover,  oats  and  ship-stuff.     Corn  and  oats  best. 

31  Clover  and  millet,  some  red-top.     Corn  fodder. 

32  Timothy,  red-top  and  millet.     Nos.  1  and  2  best 

33  Oats  and  fodder. 

34  Soiling  with  red  clover  and  rye.     Clover  best. 

35  Clover,  timothy  and  millet  and  corn  fodder  while  on  hard  work. 

36  Chopped  feed,  mixed  with  rye  or  corn  meal,  with  plenty  of  hay. 

37  Corn  fodder. 

38  Very  rare  to  find  any  one  using  anything  but  hay  except  a  little 

fodder. 

39  Fodder  and  oats.     Consider  oats  best. 

40  Clover  hay,  millet  and  Hungarian,  herds  grass.     The  first  and  last 

best. 

41  Hay  made  of  all  the  grasses,  with  corn  fodder.     Timothy  best. 

42  Timothy,  clover,  millet.     Timothy  considered  best. 

43  Timothy,  herds  grass  and  clover  hay  and  fodder.     Timothy  and 

clover  are  the  best. 

44  Corn  fodder. 

45  Corn  fodder  and  oats.     I  think  timothy  the  best  for  anything. 

46  Corn,  oats,  and  occasionally  bran  and  corn  mixed. 

47  Oats  and  corn  fodder,  with  corn.     Fodder  considered  best 

48  Fodder,   oats,   German  millet  and  Hungarian  grass.      Oats  and 

Hungarian  decidedly  best. 

49  Corn  fodder  and  oats.     I  consider  corn  and  oats  best. 

50  Clover  hay,  German  millet,  some  timothy  and  herds  grass  and 

Hungarian. 

51  Cut  oats  with  wheat  bran,  corn,  mixed  feed  best. 

52  Chopped  feed,  straw  or  oats  cut  up  with  meal  or  bran. 

53  Principally  fodder. 

54  Timothy,  clover,   German  millet,    Hungarian,    red-top.      I  think 

clover  best. 

55  Corn  fodder.      I  think  that  hay  made  from  timothy  and  herds 

grass  decidedly  preferable. 


APPENDIX.  465 

56  Oats  and  fodder  are  used  aside  from  the  grasses,  and  are,  by  some, 

considered  the  best  feed. 

57  Corn  and  fodder.     Fodder  regarded  better  than  hay. 

58  Millet,  Hungarian  and  clover. 

59  Oats,  corn  and  millet.     Principally  oats  and  corn,  with  hay. 

60  Sheaf  oats,  maize  fodder.     Either  of  which  is  good. 

61  Timothy  and  clover  I  consider  best.     Oats,  rye  and  wheat  chop. 

62  Corn  fodder  and  sheaf  oats— cut  oats. 

63  Oats  in  sheaf,  pulled  fodder,  cut  corn  fodder  and  stalks. 

64  Corn  fodder.     German  millet  is  used  considerably. 

65  Corn  fodder. 

66  Hungarian  and  timothy. 

67  Oats,  fodder  and  corn.     Corn  and  oats  considered  best. 

fes  Oats  first  cut  in  straw,  fodder,  Hungarian.     Oats  best  by  all  means. 

69  Oats  and  corn  fodder.     Also,  timothy,  orchard  grass,  clover,  red- 

top.     Oats  best,  second,  clover. 

70  Leaving  out  clover,  we  prefer  corn,  oats  and  corn  fodder. 

71  Millet  and  Hungarian  and  clover.     Clover  best,  Hungarian  second. 

72  Corn  fodder  and  clover  hay. 

73  Corn  fodder  is  the  equal  of  any  feed,  and  much  used  hi  ploughing 

time. 

74  Fodder  and  oats. 

75  Clover,  millet,  oats.     We  use  various  other  kinds. 

76  Clover,  orchard  grass,  red-top,  timothy,  millet.    The  four  first  are 

all  very  good. 

77  Corn  fodder  is  our  chief  reliance.     Rye  in  its  green  state,  is  con- 

venient and  profitable. 

78  Timothy,  herds  grass  and  clover,  fodder  and  millet.     Timothy  beet. 

79  Corn  fodder  and  shucks. 

80  Clover,  oats  and  millet.     Oats  regarded  as  best. 

81  Corn,  oats,  fodder,  pea- vine.     Corn  with  fodder,  or  oats  alone. 

82  Red-top  hay,  natural  meadow  hay,  straw,  millet,   sheaf  oats.     I 

like  red-top  hay  with  corn. 

83  Timothy,  clover  hay,  some  fodder.     Timothy  does  not  slobber  or 

heat. 

84  Herds  grass,  and  other  hays  and  corn  fodder  best.     Herds  at  night, 

fodder,  morning. 

85  Corn,  oats,  fodder  and  rye. 

86  Millet,  fodder,  sometimes  shucks  or  straw. 

87  Herds  grass,  fodder  and  millet. 

88  Herds  grass,  millet,  clover  and  fodder.     Herds  grass  and  clover. 

89  Fodder,  shucks,  straw  and  hay.     Timothy  hay  the  be^t. 

90  Clover  hay.  *  Some  are  using  millet. 

91  Oats  and  corn  fodder.     Oats  preferred. 

30 


466  APPENDIX. 

92  Oats  and  corn  fodder,  commonly  used.     Oats  cut  up  with  the  straw 

is  best. 

93  Oats  and  corn  fodder.     Oats  is  the  best  food  next  to  hay. 

94  Clover  and  blade  fodder.      Clover  is    reckoned  the  best,  but  red- 

top  is  as  good. 

95  Corn  fodder  and  sheaf  oats.     Oats  best. 

96  Corn  fodder.     Nothing  better  than  good  hay. 

97  Corn  fodder,  almost  universally,  shucks,  oats,  corn  fodder. 

98  Clover,  millet,  corn  and  oats.     Clover  the  best  forage. 

99  Timothy,  clover  and  red-top  are  considered  best.     Some  grain  is 

necessary  to  keep  stock  in  good  order. 

100  Corn  blades  or  fodder  are  almost  universally  used.     Clover  hay 

and  herds  grass  are  also  used. 

101  Fodder,  oats  hi  the  sheaf,  rye  in  sheaf  and  cut. 

102  Herds  grass,   cut  corn,  corn  fodder,  wheat  straw  cut  and  mixed 

with  rye  and  ground  corn. 

103  Clover  principally. 

104  Clover  hay,  herds  grass  hay,  pea-nut  vine  hay  for  cows  and  sheep. 

105  Fodder  and  corn  husks.     The  former,  when  properly  cured,  the 

best. 

106  Mostly  blades  from  the  corn, 

107  Corn  fodder  and  shucks. 


What  kind  of  hay   are   sheep   and  cattle  fed   upon  in 
winter  ? 

1  Clover,  Hungarian  and  millet.     Many,  but  little  or  none,  of  either. 

2  Generally  a  little  millet,  but  mostly  on  shucks  and  nubbins  of  corn. 

3  Red  top,  millet  and  clover. 

4  Herds  grass,  timothy,  clover  and  millet. 

5  Sheep  fed  but  little — clover,  timothy,  herds  grass,  millet  and  hay. 

6  Some  feed  clover  (the  best),  others  wheat  straw,  shucks  and  fod- 

der, the  next  thing  to  nothing. 

7  Herds  grass  and  clover. 

8  Cotton  seed  and  shucks,  and  rarely  that. 

9  German  millet  for  cattle,  herds  grass  for  sheep, 

10  Clover  and  red-top. 

11  Cattle  on  straw  and  corn  stalks,  sometimes  hay  and  corn.     Sheep 

rarely  fed  at  all. 

12  Clover,  timothy  and  millet.     Millet  considered  by  good  farmers 

poor  feed. 

13  Wheat  straw  and  all  kinds  of  hay. 


APPENDIX.  467 

14  Red  top  and  timothy,     Sheep  relish  the  rag-weed  well  saved  and 

stacked. 

15  Timothy  and  red-top  and  clover  hay,  stalk  fodder. 

16  Clover  and  millet. 

IT  Sheep  mostly  fed  on  fodder.     Sometimes  on  hay.     Many  run  in 
the  woods  and  on  the  commons. 

18  Corn  fodder,  generally. 

19  Clover  and  timothy,  and  largely  on  fodder. 

20  Promiscuously. 

21  All  the  different  kinds  of  hay  grasses. 

22  Mostly  wheat  straw  for  cattle.     Sheep  make  their  living  where 
they  can. 

•23  Fodder  stalks,  straw,  clover  and  timothy. 

24  When  not  given  corn  fodder,  clover  preferred  for  cattle.     Sheep: 

other  hay  or  sheaf  oats. 

25  All  kinds,  especially  timothy. 

26  Clover  and  timothy  in  winter. 

27  Shucks  and  cotton  seed. 

28  Clover  and  timothy. 

29  Cattle  fed  mostly  on  shucks.     Sheep,  herds  grass  and  fodder. 

30  Millet  and  clover,  shucks,  fodder,  wheat  and  rye  straw/ 

31  All  kinds.     Wheat  straw  and  chaff  fed  largely  to  sheep. 

32  Clover ]  red-top  and  millet. 

33  Clover  and  timothy  and  some  pea  hay  for  sheep,  shucks  and  cotton 

seed  for  cattle. 

34  Clover  hay  and  corn  fodder.     Corn  fodder  cheapest. 

35  Corn  fodder  and  clover. 

36  Clover  and  other  hays,  straw  and  shucks. 

37  Corn  fodder,  red  top. 

38  Little  hay  fed  to  cattle,  sheep  eat  no  hay  except  there  is  some  snow 

on  the  ground. 

39  Shucks,  cotton  seed  and  wheat  straw. 

40  Clover  hay,  herds  grass  and  German  millet. 

41  All  the  different  kinds  of  hay,  fodder  and  straw. 

42  Timothy,  clover,  herds  grass,  fodder  and  straw  of  different  kinds. 

44  Wheat  straw  and  corn  husks. 

45  Sheep  are  mostly  fed  on  corn  blades,  cattle  on  shucks. 

46  Hungarian  and  German  millet  and  occasionally  clover 

47  Cattle  mostly  on  cut  corn   stalks,  beef  cattle  and  milch  cows  on 

millet  and  timothy. 

48  Clover,  timothy  and  corn  shucks,  which  are  feed  to  cattle. 

49  Herds  grass  and  clover  and  German  millet,  which  yields  quite  a 

large  crop 


468  APPENDIX. 

50  Clover  hay,  German  millet  and  wheat  straw. 

51  Timothy,  clover,  fodder,  straw;  sheep  do  well  on  blue  grass  pasture 

52  Cattle  are  fed  on  cut  com  and  shucks,  timothy  hay.     Sheep,  fodder 

mostly. 

53  Clover  and  timothy,  recently  the  German  millet  is  being  sown,  but 

I  do  not  like  it. 

54  All  mentioned,  timothy,  clover,  millet,  red  top. 

55  Principally  corn  fodder  and  shucks,  as  hay  is  not  grown  extensively 

enough  to  fed  all  stock. 

56  Millet,  clover  and  herds  grass. 

57  The  above  (millet,  Hungarian  and  clover)  are  principally  sown  for 

winter  feed  and  are  the  best. 

58  Clover  and  corn  fodder  are  considered  the  best. 

59  Almost  every  kind,  pea  vines,  wild  grasses,  corn  husks,  etc. 

60  Tinythy,  clover.     The  most  of  them  are  grazed  when  there  is  no 

snow. 

61  Very  little  of  any  kind. 

62  Clover,  pea  vines,  cut  corn  stalks,  but  most  persons  do  not  feed 

them  anything. 

63  Mostly  on  red  top  and  millet. 

64  Clover,  herds  grass,  shucks  and  wheat  straw. 

65  Those  mentioned  above  (Hungarian  and  timothy). 

66  Clover  and  millet. 

67  Any  of  the  kind  mentioned,  clover  preferable  for  sheep  and  cattle, 

timothy  for  horses. 
€8  Clo^r,  but  a  great  many  feed  on  corn  stalks  and  fodder. 

69  Not  fed  much  at  all,  shucks,  millet,   wheat  and  rye  straw,  some- 

times clover  and  oats. 

70  Cattle  are  fed  on  wheat  straw,  millet  and  clover,  hay  and  blue 

grass.     Sheep  are  kept  on  blue  grass.     In  cold  weather  corn  or 
oats. 

71  Clover,  German  millet,  Hungarian  and  herds  grass. 

72  Corn  fodder  is  the  equal  of  any  feed,  and  much  used  in  plow  time. 

73  Herds  grass,  clover  and  millet,  but  quite  a  number  feed  straw  of 

wheat  and  corn  shucks  to  cattle,  oats  to  sheep. 

74  Clover  and  herds  grass. 

75  Principally  upon  clover,  herds  grass  and  timothy. 

76  Shucks  and  straw,  generally 

77  I  regret  to  say  none.     We  give  them  cotton  seed  ad  libitum,  and 

the  run  of  corn  stalk  fields,  some  graze  on  wheat. 

78  Cattle  are  fed  on  corn  shucks,  straw  and  cut  cor  a  stalks,  sheep 

graze  on  the  grasses,  wheat  and  oats. 

79  Corn  fodder,  shucks  and  millet. 


APPENDIX. 


469 


80  Herds,  clover  and  timothy. 

81  Clover  is  used  more  than  any  other,  cut  fodder. 

82  Common  meadow  hay,  red  top. 

83  Cattle  mostly  on  shucks  and  straw.     Sheep,  fodder  and  fine  hay, 

such  as  red  top. 

84  As  a  general  rule  nothing,  but  perhaps  a  little  corn  to  the  poorest. 

85  All  kinds  generally. 

86  Clover,  timothy,  herds  grass,  fodder,  chopped  straw  with  corn  meal 

87  Herds  grass,  clover  and  fodder,  corn  shucks  for  cattle. 

88  Clover  and  millet. 

89  Wheat  straw  and  chaff. 

90  Red  top  mostly,  sometimes  timothy. 

91  Clover,  wheat  straw,  and  meadow  hay  generally. 

92  Corn  fodder  and  shucks  generally      Other  hay  to  some  extent. 

93  Not  much  of  any  kind. 

94  Millet,  red  top,  clover  and  blade  fodder. 

95  All  kinds  of  grass  above  mentioned. 

96  Clover  and  red  top,  but  mostly  on  wheat  straw. 

97  Herds  grass  timothy,  corn  fodder,  clean  hay  and  shucks,  but  little 

of  either  fed  to  sheep. 

98  All  kinds. 

99  Timothy,  clover  and  red  top  are  the  kinds  generally  used. 

100  Clover,  herds  grass,  pea  fodder,  corn  fodder,  crab  grass.     They  are 

fortunate  to  get  any  of  these  more  frequently  they  live  on  wind 
and  moonshine  and  die  in  March. 

101  Clover,  timothy,  Hungarian  and  millet. 

1 02  Cattle  mostly  on  wheat  straw  and  ehucks.     Sheep  on  fodder  and 

hay. 

103  Clover  generally. 

104  Generally  on  pea  nut  and  clover  hay. 

105  On  whatever  kind  we  have  on  hand. 

106  Very  little  of  any  kind.     Corn  and  shucks  and  corn  fodder. 

107  I  think  fodder  the  best  of  anything. 

Are   highway  or    enclosed  pastures  most  used  in  sum- 
mer? 

1  Enclosed  pastures  by  best  farmers. 

2  Entirely  highway  or  wood  pastures.    No  enclosed  pastures.    There 

is  sufficient  forage  in  the  woods. 

3  Highways  mostly,  though  many  have  enclosed  pastures. 

4  Enclosed  pastures. 

5  Mostly  enclosed. 

6  Highway  generally.     Some  farmers  have  enclosed  pastures. 


470  APPENDIX. 

7  On  the  mountain,  the  "highway,"  100  miles  wide. 

8  Highway  almost  exclusively. 

9  Highway  to  a  great  extent 

10  Highway  mostly  used  in  the  central  part  of  the  county;  enclosed  ill 

the  West. 

11  Enclosed  pastures. 

12  A  few  years  since  highways  were  used,  now  enclosed  a*e  con- 

sidered most  profitable  and  beet. 

13  Highways,  but  our  best  farmers  use  enclosed  pastures  most. 

14  By  the  masses,  the  highways. 

15  Enclosed  pastures;  in  my  county  all  the  lands  are  under  fence. 

16  Highways. 

17  Much  woods  and  commons.     Not  manj7  fenced  pastures. 

18  Enclosed  at  present.     This  is  a  very  thickly  settled  county. 

19  By  good  farmers  enclosed  pastures,  but  ma  ay  cattle  run  at  large. 

20  Enclosed  pastures. 

21  Formerly  the  highway  was  most  used,  but  latterly  enclosed  pas- 

tures are  coming  into  use. 

22  Enclosed  pastures,  excepting  in  the  most  broken  sections. 

23  Both  are  used.     The  greater  number  turn  on  the  highways. 

24  Enclosed,  but  much  stock  range  out,  especially  along  the  moun- 

tains. 

25  Enclosed. 

26  Both.     Highways  most. 

27  Highway.    But  few  farmers  keep  up  all  their  stock. 

28  Enclosed  pastures  prevail. 

29  Highway. 

30  Highways  mostly,  though  some  farmers  have  fine  pastures. 

31  Enclosed  mostly  used  here.      Stock  get  along  very  well  in  some 

parts. 

32  Highway  or  wild  pastures  through  the  timber. 

33  Enclosed. 

34  Enclosed  except  on  the  table-lands  bordering  on  Lawrence  county. 

35  Stock  farmers  invariably  enclose.     General  farmers  use  the  high- 

ways 

36  Enclosed  pastures  in  the  more  fertile  sections.     In  the  hilly  coun- 

try they  use  the  woods. 

37  Enclosed. 

38  Enclosed  pastures  entirely,  except  a  few  renters. 

39  Highway  or  woodland. 

40  Those  who  pay  no  attention  to  the  grasses  depend  entirety  upon 

the  highways,  but  I  consider  them  worthless  for  profit  only  in 
June  and  July. 


APPENDIX.  471 

41  Enclosed 

42  Enclosed  pastures  for  summer.     Forests  too  dense  to  grow  grasses. 

43  Enclosed  pastures. 

44  Enclosed. 

45  Enclosed  pasture 

46  Highway  in  the  proportion  of  about  seven  to  three. 

47  Enclosed  pastures. 

48  Enclosed,  though  there  are  fine  highway  pastures  in  this  county. 

49  Highway. 

50  Enclosed.     Highway  only  used  by  tenants. 

51  Enclosed. 

52  Enclosed. 

53  Highway. 

54  Enclosed.      This  is  a  grazing  county. 

55  Highway,  at  least  five  to  one. 

56  Highway  mostly  used,  some  enclosed  pastures 

57  Highway. 

58  Enclosed  are  entirely  used. 

59  Enclosed  pastures. 

60  Stock  run  upon  ranges  or  pastures  at  all  times. 

61  Enclosed  in  my  neighborhood.  » 

62  Highway. 

63  Highway. 

64  Enclosed,  though  considerable  stock  run  at  large. 

65  Enclosed  pastures  most  used. 

66  Enclosed. 

67  Highway,  except  in  the  blue  grass  portion  of  the  county. 

68  Enclosed.     Highways  are  relics  of  half  civilization  and  indicate 

decay. 

69  Enclosed  pastures. 

70  Highways. 

71  Enclosed  principally,  except  on  the  ridge. 

72  Enclosed  mostly,  but  highway  pastures  in  some  portions  of  the 

county. 

73  Enclosed  by  good  stock  raisers,  but  many  use  the  commons  only. 

74  Highways. 

75  Highways. 

76  Our  mountain  ranges  are  principally  used. 

77  Highways  for  the  most  part. 

78  High  way  or  monutain  region  for  cattle  and  sheep. 

79  On  south  highway,  north  enclosed 

80  Enclosed  pasture!  generally. 

81  Enclosed.     But  little  highway  pastures  in  this  neighborhood. 


472  APPENDIX. 

82  Highways. 

83  Enclosed.     Our  poor  people  let  their  stock  run  at  large. 

84  I  suppose  equally  divided.     The  interest  in  enclosed  pastures  is 

growing. 

85  Both  are  vtry  generally  used. 

86  Enclosed.     No  good  farmer  would  think  of  turning  his  stock  out. 

87  Highways  mostly.     Enclosed  by  our  best  farmers. 

88  Both.     Cattle  and  sheep  run  on  highways. 

89  Highway. 

90  Clover  and  blue  grass. 

91  Enclosed,  principally. 

92  Comparatively  few  persons  confine  their  stock  hi  summer. 

93  Highways,  except  when  a  good  chance  offers  to  run  stock  on  other 

people's  enclosures. 

94  Highways  nearly  altogether. 

95  Highway. 

96  Highway. 

97  Highways  almost  entirely. 

98  Enclosed  pastures. 

99  Enclosed  pastures  are  generally  used. 

100  When  you  speak  of  [highway   pastures  I  suppose  you  mean  the 

bleak  hills  worn  out  by  cotton.  I  am  sorry  to  say  here  is  where 
our  cows  get  the  wrinkles  on  their  horns — marks  of  years  of  suf- 
fering. 

101  Enclosed. 

102  Highway  or  timbered  land  south  of  Cleveland. 

103  Mostly  highways. 

104  Usually  highways,  or  the  range,  as  it  is  called  here. 

105  Mostly  highways. 

106  Highways 

107  Small  herds  on  enclosed  pastures.     Large  herds  are  summered  on 

the  mountains. 

Please  mention  the  kinds   of  grasses,   or   forage  plants, 
grown  for  hay  in  your  county,  and  which  are  regarded  as 

best. 

1  Timothy,  clover,  herds  grass.     Preference  given  in  the  order  named. 

2  Clover  and  timothy  with  corn  blades  and  goober  pea  hay,  but 

mostly  German  millet. 

3  Clover  and  red  top,  German  millet;  red  top  best. 

4  Timothy,  herds  grass,  clover,  millet;  clover  the  best. 

5  Red  clover,  herds  grass,  timothy. 


APPENDIX.  473 

6  Clover,  timothy,  herds  grass.       German  millet  best.      Timothy  for 
horses. 

7.  Millet  and  herds  grass. 

8.  Timothy,  herds  grass,  clover,  millet.       Timothy  and  clover  liked 

best. 
9  Clover,  herds  grass,  timothy,  German  millet,  Hungarian  grass. 

10  Clover,  herds  grass,  red  top. 

11  Timothy,  clover,  millet,  Hungarian;  clover  and  timothy  best. 

12  Clover,  timothy,  red  top. 

1 3  Red  top,  timothy  and  orchard  grass      Red  top  for  wet  land^  timo- 

thy for  dry. 

14  Clover,  timothy,  herds  grass,  millet;    clover  and  timothy  preferred 

by  some ;  herds  grass  by  others. 

15  Timothy  and  red  top;  clover  for  meadows;  timothy  considered  best. 

16  Millet,  herds  grass  and  clover;  herds  grass  preferred. 

17  Clover,  timothy  and  dog  foot  and  Randall  grass  and  the  different 

millets,  blue  grass. 

18  Timothy,  herds  grass  and  clover. 

19  Timothy  and  red  clover  are  considered  the  best;    red  top   is  also 

grown. 

20  Clover,  red  top,  timothy. 

21  Red  clover  timothy,  herds  grass  and  millet ;  clover  and  timothy 

best. 

22  Clover,  herds  grass,  orchard  grass,  German  millet,  timothy ;  in  the 

order  named. 

23  Red  clover,  timothy,  red  top,  orchard  grass;  red  top  and  timothy. 

24  Timothy,  clover  often  mixed;  herds  grass  on  low  land;    timothy 

and  clover  mixed,  the  best  hay. 

25  Best  hi  the  order  mentioned ;  clover,  timothy,  herds  grass,  German 

millet. 

26  Clover  and  timothy  hay  is  the  best  used  in  our  county. 

27  Red  clover,  timothy,  herds  grass,  Hungarian  and  German  millet. 

28  Clover,  timothy,  oats,  millet;  clover,  timothy  and  orchard  grass  the 

best  hay. 

29  Clover,  herds  grass,  orchard  grass  and  millet;  clover  for  home  use, 

herds  grass  for  shipment. 

30  Millet,  timothy,  red  top  and  red  clover;    the  best  ones,  clover  and 

red  top. 

31  Clover,  red  top,  timothy,  orchard,  millet  and  peas  make  good  hay; 

clover  best. 

32  Blue  grass,  red  top,  orchard,  clover,  timothy  and  millet.    Nos.  3,  4 

and  5  best 

33  Clover,  timothy,  herds  grass,  Hungarian  and  millet. 


474  APPENDIX. 

34  Clover,  herds  grass5  timothy  and  the  millets,  Missouri  and  German. 

35  Clover,  timothy,  red  top  and  millets,  orchard;  clover,  red  top  and 

timothy  mixed  the  best 

86  Timothy  herds  grass,  clover,  orchard  grass ;    timothy  and  herds 
grass  the  best. 

37  Clover,  red  top,  millet. 

38  Clover,  herds  grass,  timothy,  orchard  grass,   millet ;    in  the  order 

named. 

39  Herds  grass,  timothy,  clover,  peas,  ncillet ;  herds  grass  considered 

best, 

40  Herds  grass,  clover,  timothy,  millet,  Hungarian ;    herds  grass  and 

clover  last. 

41  Timothy,  herds  grass,  clover,  millet;  the  first  three  the  best. 

42  Red  clover,  timothy,  herds  grass  and  millet;  timothy  and  clover  best. 

43  Timothy,  clover,  herds  grass;  ciover  the  best;  timothy  next. 

44  Red  top,  timothy  and  clover;  the  latter  makes  the  best  hay. 

45  Timothy,  red  top,   clover  and  the  different  millets;  timothy  and 

clover  the  best. 

46  German  and  Hungarian  millets,  herds  grass,  timothy  and  clover. 

47  Clover,  timothy,  herds  grass,  German  and  Hungarian  millets;  timo 

thy  and  clover  the  best. 

48  Clover,  red  top,  orchard  and  timothy;  the  first  and  last  the  best. 

49  Clover,  herds  grass  and  timothy.     I  regard  clover  as  being  the  best. 

50  German   millet  and  Hungarian  grass,    herds  grass,    timothy  and 

clover.     The  last  two  combined  the  best. 

51  Timothy  best;  clover  ne±t. 

§2  Clover,  timothy  and  blue  grass. 

53  Clover,  timothy  and  herds  grass;  orchard  grass  is  becoming  quite  a 

favorite,  especially  for  pasture.      Clover  and  timothy  combined 
the  best. 

54  Clover,  timothy,  herds  grass,  and  to  a  small  extent  orchard  grass. 

55  German  millet,  clover,  timothy,  red  top;  timothy  and  red  top  mix- 

ed are  the  best. 

56  Clover,  timothy,  red  top  and  the  millets;  timothy  best  for  hay ;   all 

do  well. 

57  Timothy,  herds  grass,  clover  and  German  millet. 

58  Red  clover,  timothy  and  herds  grass. 

59  Timothy,  clover,  red  top,  millet;  1st,  2nd  and  4th  preferred. 

60  Herds  grass,  timothy,  clover,  millet;  herds  grass  best. 

61  Blue  grass,  timothy,  clover,  orchard  grass;  the  three  latter  best  for 

hay. 

62  Clover,  timothy,  Hungarian  and  German  millet,  red  top;  clover  and 

timothy  best. 


APPENDIX.  475 

63  Timothy,  clover,  pea  vines,  crab  grass   large,    coarse  swamp  grass 

called  wild  millet;  best  in  the  order  written. 

64  Clover,  red  top,  timothy,  orchard  grass;  red  top  and  clover  best. 

65  Red  clover,  herds  grass,  timothy. 

66  Hungarian,  timothy,  herds  grass,  millet. 

67  Hungarian,  timothy,   German  millet,  Missouri  millet  and  clover  ; 

clover  best. 

68  Timothy,  red  top,  clover;  regard  clover  and  timothy  the  best. 

69  Best,  1st,  timothy;  2nd,   clover;  3d,   orchard  grass;  4th,  red  top; 

last  and  least,  Tennessee  and  Missouri  millet. 

70  Clover,  red  top,  Missouri  and  German  millet  and  corn  fodder. 

71  German  and  Missouri  millet,  Hungarian  and  clover;    clover  best, 

Hungarian  next. 

72  Herds  grass,  timothy,  clover,  German  millet,  Hungarian. 

73  Herds,  clover,  timothy,  orchard,  blue  grass  and  the  various  millets. 

74  Herds  grass  and  clover. 

75  Herds  grass  and  timothy. 

76  Clover,  red  top,  timothy,  orchard  and  millet.     Best  in  order  named- 

77  Clover,  red  top,  German  millet,  crab  grass  and  the  pea.     Clover  and 

red  top  considered  best. 

78  Timothy,  herds  grass,  clover;    orchard  and  blue  grass  the  best. 

79  Mostly  the  millet  family;  timothy  and  herds  grass  to  a  limited  extent. 

80  Timothy  and  herds  grass.     The  first  regarded  the  best. 

81  Timothy   red  top,  orchard  and  clover.     Blue  grass  best  for  perma- 

nent pastures. 

82  Red  top,  timothy,  clover;  value  in  the  order  written. 

83  Clover  and  timothy;  timothy  hay  is  best;  clover  yields  most. 

84  Herds  grass,  millet,  timothy,  clover. 

85  Millet,  Hungarian,  red  top,  timothy  and  clover. 

86  Clover,  timothy,  herds  grass  millet,  corn  fodder. 

87  Clover,  herds  grass,  millet;  clover  the  best. 

88  German  millet,  herds  grass,  timothy;  clover  and  fodder  best. 

89  Millet,  herds  grass,  timothy,  clover;  timothy  best  for  hay. 

90  Red  top  and  timothy  best  for  hay. 

91  Timothy,  clover,  red  top,  millet,  crab  grass,  Indian  corn.     Best, 

timothy,  clover,  corn  fodder. 

92  Red  top,  blue  grass,  orchard,  two  or  three  kinds  of  millet,  Hunga- 

rian; red  top  most  reliable. 

93  Timothy,  clover,  red  top,  German  millet,  Hungarian  grass.. 

94  Clover,  millet,  red  top ;  clover  wont  last  on  our  land;  millet  kills 

the  land;  red  top  very  nearly  a  natural  growth. 

95  Timothy,  orchard  grass,  red  clover,   herds  grass;  millet,  timothy 

and  clover  best. 


476 


APPENDIX. 


96  Clover,  timothy,  red  top;  timothy  best  where  it  can  be  grown. 

97  Clover,  herds  grass;  timothy,  German  millet  preferred  to  Tennessee 

and  Hungarian. 

98  Clover,  timothy,  herds  grass,  orchard  and  blue  grasses,  millet. 

99  Clover,  timothy,  red  top  and  some  millet;  timothy  considered  best. 
100  Clover,  herds,  orchard  grasses,  timothv,    each  grown  and  cut  with 

clover;  clover  best;  timothy  dies  out  second  year. 
1  01  Timothy,  herds  and  orchard  grass,  Hungarian  and  millet. 

102  Herds  grass,  cut  corn  and  corn  fodder,  some  German  millet. 

103  Timothy  and  herds  grass;  blue  grass  is  preferable  to  either. 

104  Timothy,  herds,  orchard  and  clover  German  millet. 

105  German  millet  and  herds  grass.     The  latter  much  the  best. 

106  Some  clover,  blue  grass  and  red  top. 

107  Herds  grass  and  clover.     Am  experimenting  with  timothy. 


THE   GRASSES   OF   TENNESSEE. 


AN  ESSAY  BY  B.  F.  COCKRILL,  READ  BEFORE  THE  TEN- 
NESSEE STOCK  BREEDERS7  CONVENTION  AT  ITS  THIRD 
ANNUAL  SESSION,  FEBRUARY  19,  1878. 


The  vast  field  of  study  which  this  heading  indicates  is  by  far  too  exten- 
sive to  be  treated  of  in  a  paper  like  this,  except  in  a  cursory  manner. 
I,  therefore,  shall  not  attempt  to  go  into  detail  only  to  the  extent  of  enu- 
merating some  of  the  more  generally  known  varieties,  and  instituting  a 
comparison  of  their  relative  merits  as  adapted  to  and  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  successful  development  of  tint  great  industry  to  which 
our  present  organization  relate^ 

The  Belgian  proverb,  "No  grass  no  cattle,  no  cattle  no  manure,  uo  ma- 
nure no  crops,"  is  not  quite  complete;  it  should  continue,  no  crops  no 
money,  no  money  no  intelligence,  no  intelligence  no  people — for  all  peo- 
ple, of  whatever  nation  or  clime,  possessing  no  intelligence,  that  occupy 
soil  where  the  grasses  will  flourish,  must  eventually  give  way  before  that 
resistless  march  of  high  civilization  that  marks  its  path  with  the  beautiful 
verdure  of  blooming  fields. 


477 

Upon  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  this  proverb  depends  the  prosperity 
and  success  or  downfall  and  decay  of  the  important  interests  of  our  beau- 
tiful State. 

The  fact  that  so  small  a  portion  of  the  arable  lands  of  our  State  are  de- 
voted to  the  cultivation  of  the  grasses,  is  a  lamentable  one ;  especially  so, 
as  grass  is  the  most  important  factor  in  the  production  of  all  flesh,  which 
constitutes  about  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  human  food  of  the  entire  world. 
Again,  the  importance  of  grass  becomes  a  more  potent  factor  in  solving 
the  great  problem  that  is  now  awakening  the  best  minds  in  existence,  viz., 
the  preservation  of  the  soil,  the  foundation  of  all  prosperity,  either  indi- 
vidual, State  or  national. 

The  estimated  value  of  the  grass  crop  of  the  United  States,  for  pasturage 
and  hay  together,  is  about  $1,000,000,000,  at  the  present  time.  Of  this 
amount  Tennessee  is  entitled  to  at  least  one-thirtieth,  or  thirty-three 
millions.  Deprive  us  of  this  amount  of  property,  and  issue  the  decree 
that  there  should  never  be  another  acre  within  the  limits  of  our  State 
devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  grass,  and  wnere  would  we  be  in  ten  years 
from  to-day? — occupying  a  howling  wilderness  of  burned,  scarred,  gullied, 
worthless  soil;  living  in  huts  in  squallid  ignorance  and  poverty,  the  des 
pised  of  all  this  great  sisterhood  of  States. 

When  we  realize  the  great  importance  that  the  cultivation  of  the  grasses 
bears  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  all  the  branches  of  rural  husbandry, 
it  becomes  a  cause  of  sincere  regret  that  the  intelligence  oi  our  agricultu- 
ral classes  has  so  seriously  neglected  to  place  this  important  element  where 
it  properly  belong,  and  enable  it  to  stand  first  in  value  in  all  future  re- 
ports of  the  statistics  of  our  State. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  name  some  of  the  grasses,  together  with  their 
characteristics,  that  are  the  most  extensively  adapted  to  and  grown  in 
Tennessee : 

First  on  the  list,  in  consequence  of  its  being  more  extensively  cultivated 
and  generally  known,  is  blue  grass,  (poa  pratensis.}  This  grass  was  intro- 
duced into  this  country  by  the  early  settlers  of  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas, 
and  has  since  been  so  extensively  propagated  from  the  lakes  to  the  gulf  as 
to  deserve  the  title  of  the  grass  of  America.  To  describe  its  specific  char- 
acters is  not  pertinent  to  this  occasion,  and  could  only  interest  the  student 
of  botany.  This  is  an  early  grass  that  will  flourish  almost  anywhere 
when  properly  treated  and  cared  for.  It,  of  course,  varies  in  size  and 
somewhat  in  appearance,  according  to  soil  and  latitude  of  the  location. 
Many  persons  regard  it  as  the  most  valuable  of  all  our  grasses.  This  title 
to  first  honor  depends,  in  my  opinion,  upon  the  character  of  soil  and  cli- 
mate where  grown,  being  a  grass  that  spreads  mainly  by  its  creeping  roots, 
and  flourishes  most  luxuriantly  upon  a  porous  lime-stone  soil  where  the 
underlying  strata  is  a  tenacious  clay.  It  requires  moisture  to  be  always 
within  reach  of  the  roots  to  keep  it  green,  this  being  the  character  of  most 
of  the  soil  in  Kentucky,  where  it  constitutes  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the 


478  APPENDIX. 

entire  wealth  of  many  of  the  richest  counties  in  that  State.  It  is  a  grass 
relished  by  all  cattle.  I  mean  by  this  term  all  our  domestic  animals.  It 
has,  in  that  State  and  elsewhere,  been  used  as  hay,  by  cutting  when  in 
bloom,  but  I  cannot  recommend  it  as  a  hay  grass,  being  too  short  and  too 
light  after  being  dried.  In  our  climate  it  will  endure  the  frosts  of  winter 
perhaps  better  than  any  other  grass.  It  will  not  withstand  our  severe 
droughts,  and  consequently  should  not  be  grazed  closely  alter  June,  in 
order  that  it  may  accumulate  sufficient  growth  to  shade  the  roots  during 
the  hot  months  of  July  and  August,  during  which  time,  if  dry,  it  makes 
comparatively  little  growth  unless  an  unusual  amount  of  moisture  is 
in  the  soil.  To  realize  the  full  value  of  this  grass  as  a  pasture  grass,  it 
should  never  have  its  roots  exposed  to  a  broiling  sun  during  summer, 
letting  the  fall  growth  remain  untouched  until  about  the  first  of  Novem- 
ber, and  then  it  may  be  grazed  until  the  following  June  without  injury. 
Upon  a  good  sward,  thus  treated,  all  kinds  of  stock  may  be  wintered 
with  comparatively  little  cost. 

The  preparation  of  the  soil  for  seeding  to  blue  grass  is  quite  simple. 
If  cleared  land,  plow  well  in  fall  and  winter,  in  order  that  the  freezes  may 
comminute  the  soil  thoroughly;  harrow  in  February,  sow  one  and  a  half 
bushels  clean  seed  per  acre,  and  follow  the  harrow  with  a  light  brush,  as 
the  seed  will  not  germinate  if  covered  deep — by  experience  not  over  one 
inch  deep.  If  woodland,  clean  the  soil  of  leaves  or  trash,  either  by 
raking  or  burning,  then  sow  and  brush  in.  The  first  year  the  young  grass 
should  not  be  grazed  at  all,  as  it  requires  two  or  even  three  years  to  become 
well  set  and  does  not  arrive  at  perfection  until  the  sward  is  older  than  that. 
The  soil  should  not  be  allowed  to  become  too  loose,  which  may  be  pre- 
vented by  the  tramping  of  stock  in  dry  weather;  nor  should  too  much 
growth  be  allowed  year  after  year,  as  it  will  become  greatly  injured  by 
self-mulching.  The  proper  time  to  pasture,  after  seeding,  is  after  the  seed 
ripens  in  June,  the  second  year;  care  should  be  taken  never  to  graze  this 
too  closely  at  any  one  time.  The  nutritive  value  of  blue  grass,  according 
to  some  eminent  chemists,  is  not  equal  to  that  of  timothy)  clover  or 
orchard  grass,  either  in  flesh-forming  principles  or  fatty  matter.  Among 
the  eminent  names  whose  analysis  asserts  this  fact,  I  would  mention 
Professor  Horsford,  formerly  of  Cambridge,  Professors  Way  and  Bous- 
ingault.  Yet  these  gentlemen  may  not  have  had  specimens  of  this  grass 
in  its  greatest  luxuriance;  for  all  have  acknowledged  it  here  superior  to 
that  in  its  native  country.  Notwithstanding  these  experiments,  its  many 
good  qualities  recommend  its  general  adoption,  and  whoever  has  lime- 
stone land  has  blue  grass  land^  whoever  has  blue  grass  land  has  the  basis 
of  agricultural  prosperity;  and  that  man,  if  he  has  not  the  highest  type  of 
domestic  animals,  has  no  one  to  blame  but  himself. 

I  will  next  name  orchard  grass,  (dactylis  glomerata.)  This  plant  is  also 
A  perennial,  and  in  my  estimation  second  to  none.  It  is  so  well  described 
by  that  eminent  botanist  and  secretary  to  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 


APPENDIX.  479 

Society,  Chas.  L.  Flint,  in  his  treaties  on  grasses  and  forage  plants,  that  I 
adopt  his  text  in  giving  a  description  and  its  characteristics.  He  says  : 

"  This  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  widely  known  of  all  the  pasture 
grasses.  It  is  common  to  every  country  in  Europe,  to  the  north  of  Africa, 
and  to  Asia  as  well  as  to  America." 

It  was  introduced  into  England  from  America,  and  forms  one  of  the 
most  common  grasses  of  English  natural  pastures,  on  rich,  deep,  moist 
soils.  Its  rapidity  of  growth,  the  luxuriance  of  its  aftermath,  and  its 
power  of  enduring  the  cropping  of  cattle,  commend  it  highly  to  the  far- 
mers' care,  especially,  as  a  pasture  grass.  As  it  blossoms  earlier  than 
timothy,  and  about  the  time  of  red  clover,  it  makes  an  admirable  mixture 
with  that  plant  to  cut  in  blossom  and  cure  for  hay.  As  a  pasture  grass  it 
will  bear  feeding  closer  than  blue  grass,  as  it  grows  much  more  rapidly; 
and  close  grazing  has  much  influence  in  preventing  it  from  forming  into 
tussocks.  All  kinds  of  stock  eat  it  greedily  when  green.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  abiding  grasses  we  have;  it  will  grow  well  in  either  sunshine  or 
shade;  five  or  six  days  of  growth  will  furnish  a  good  bite  for  cattle;  it  will 
resist  drouth  when  blue  grass  or  timothy  will  parch  and  dry  up;  it  will 
produce  more  pasturage  than  any  other  grass  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 
Indeed,  if  I  had  my  preference  of  all  pastures  for  grazing  stock,  especially 
for  preparing  sheep  or  cattle  for  market,  I  would  by  all  odds  prefer  an 
equal  mixture  of  orchard  grass  and  red  clover.  The  preparation  for  seed- 
ing is  about  the  same  as  blue  grass,  and  may  be  sown  any  time  during 
early  spring,  or  even  winter,  many  preferring  to  sow  during  snow,  as  it 
enables  any  one  to  make  a  more  regular  distribution  of  the  seed;  by  all 
means  avoid  a  windy  day,  as  the  seed  are  very  light  and  will  blow  into 
bunches  under  the  lightest  breeze.  This  grass,  like  blue  grass,  should  not 
be  pastured  the  first  year,  but  any  time  after  a  year  old  it  may  be  pas- 
tured longer  and  closer  than  blue  grass;  but  to  derive  its  full  value  should 
not  be  pastured  very  close  during  the  hot  months.-  Orchard  grass  does 
not  stand  frost  quite  so  well  as  blue  grass,  but  has  so  many  superior  quali- 
ties as  to  deserve  general  commendation,  and  especially  that  of  flourishing 
upon  a  greater  varieties  of  soils  and  in  more  different  climates  than  almost 
any  other  variety  of  grass.  I  would  recommend  it  to  the  cotton  States 
with  the  full  assurance  that  it,  when  fully  introduced,  will  prove  one  of 
their  greatest  boons. 

Next  in  importance  to  Tennessee  is  red  clover,  (trifolium  pratense.)  In- 
deed it  is  hard  to  separate  or  distinguish  between  the  relative  values  of 
the  three  above  named  grasses.  Although  red  clover  is  not,  properly 
speaking,  a  natural  grass,  it  is  so  closely  allied  in  value  and  general 
adoption,  wherever  successful  agriculture  prevails,  to  the  natural  grasses, 
that  it  deserves  a  place  among  them  in  general  cultivation.  Indeed  I  can 
scarcely  imagine  how  successful  agriculture  can  be  conducted  without  it. 
The  renovation  of  the  older  States  and  worn-out  lands  can  scarcely  be  ac- 
complished without  its  agency.  The  successful  rotation  of  crops  depends 


480  APPENDIX. 

almost  wholly  upon  this  useful  forage  plant.  It  is  said  by  agricultural 
writers  that  the  introduction  of  clover  into  England  created  an  entire 
revolution  in  her  agriculture,  and  when  we  consider  the  important  part 
it  plays  in  our  own  country,  we  can  with  difficulty  imagine  how  our  an- 
cestors could  farm  without  it.  It  is  very  properly  regarded  as  one  of  our 
greatest  fertilizers,  and  certainly  by  far  the  cheapest.  It  loosens  the  Foil 
and  admits  the  air,  sends  down  its  long  roots  to  a  great  depth,  thereby 
fixing  the  gasses  necessary  to  enrich  the  earth,  and  when  these  roots  decay 
they  form  humus,  that  most  important  element  in  the  production  of  food, 
to  the  growing  plants.  Its  luxuriant  foliage  and  rapid  growth  also  aid 
greatly  in  smothering  out  weeds  and  other  noxious  plants.  As  a  hay  plant 
it  is  unexcelled  when  properly  cured  and  housed,  its  nutritive  qualities 
exceeding  that  of  most  other  plants,  especially  in  its  nitrogenous  or  flesh- 
forming  principle,  and  therefore  is  the  best  hay  for  young  and  growing 
stock.  As  a  grazing  plant  for  rapid  fattening,  it  is  superior  to  either  blue 
grass  or  orchard  grass,  if  caution  is  exercised  as  to  the  time  and  manner 
of  grazing.  Nothing  is  more  conducive  to  the  rapid  growth  and  thrift  of 
young  animals  than  a  rich  and  luxuriant  growth  of  clover  when  in  bloom 
in  the  spring  of  the  year.  The  risk  of  over-feeding  by  cattle  is  easily 
avoided  if  turned  on  after  the  dew  is  off,  and  not  fed  entirely  upon  it  dur- 
ing rainy  weather. 

So  great  a  factor  do  I  regard  this  valuable  forage  plant  in  producing  a 
general  improvement  in  the  agriculture  of  our  State  that,  were  I  a  king,  I 
would  issue  an  edict  that  no  man  should  be  allowed  to  cultivate  the  soil 
who  would  not,  at  least  once  in  every  five  years,  sow  clover  upon  the  land 
he  cultivates.  The  manner  of  seeding  is  simple  and  sure.  Plow 
thoroughly  and  deep  in  the  fall,  in  order  that  the  frosts  of  winter  may 
pulverize  well.  If  your  land  is  seeded  to  wheat,  nothing  else  is  necessary 
in  February  or  March  following,  but  to  carefully  distribute  about  one 
gallon  of  seed  per  acre  over  the  ground.  If  you  wish  to  seed  after  oats  in 
spring,  or  with  other  grasses,  be  careful  to  work  the  ground  to  a  tine  tilth 
before  sowing,  which  should  be  done  early  enough  to  give  the  young 
plants  a  start  before  the  sun  gets  too  hot  in  summer.  Clover  may  be  pas- 
tured lightly  in  the  fall,  after  sowing,  without  injury,  but  is  not  very  nu- 
tritious until  at  least  a  year  old  or  older.  I  would  here  give  my  mode  of 
curing,  which  has  proved  with  me  quite  successful,  were  it  not  seemingly 
invidious,  as  any  man  worthy  to  be  called  a  farmer  can,  by  a  little  experi- 
ence, quickly  learn  to  make  good,  sweet  clover ;  yet  there  is  quite  a  diver- 
sity of  opinion  upon  this  subject.  I  will  simply  add  that  the  very  large 
per  centum  of  water  renders  it  quite  liable  to  heat,  and  from  which  cause 
it  easily  becomes  damaged.  No  clover  hay  can  be  kept  sweet  and  fra- 
grant until  the  juices  are  sufficiently  dried  at  least  to  become  candied. 

The  next  upon  the  list  in  relation  to  its  value  and  importance  is  timo- 
thy, (pMeum  pratense.)  I  shall  not  class  this  grass  among  the  grazing 
grasses,  as  I  regard  its  merits  in  this  respect  so  very  far  inferior  to  any 


APPENDIX.  481 

one  of  the  before  mentioned  three.  Its  very  high  rank  as  a  meadow 
grass,  alone,  entitles  it  to  a  position  among  the  most  commendable  grasses 
for  Tennessee  production.  According  to  Boussinganlt,  Liebig,  Way  and 
others,  when  cut  in  full  bloom,  or  a  little  later,  and  properly  cured,  it 
possesses  more  flesh-forming,  fat-forming,  heat-producing  properties  than 
almost  any  other  grass.  Its  yield  per  acre,  when  well  set  and  properly 
treated,  is  a  great  point  in  its  favor,  also  the  ease  of  curing  and  the  slight 
loss  from  handling  are  strong  points  in  its  favor.  This,  added  to  its  gen- 
eral popularity,  makes  it  a  desirabla  grass  for  general  introduction  where- 
ever  the  soil  is  adapted  to  its  growth.  It  delights  in  a  peaty,  loamy  soil 
of  medium  tenacity,  and  is  not  suited  to  light,  sandy  or  gravelly  soils. 
The  generally  adopted  mode  of  seeding  has  materially  changed  within 
the  last  decade,  when  the  generally  adopted  plan  was  to  sow  upon  small 
grain,  wheat,  oats,  rye  or  barley,  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  The  failure  of 
late  years  to  get  a  catch  in  this  way,  has  introduced  the  now  most  gener- 
ally adopted  plan  to  thoroughly  prepare  the  land  in  summer  and  seed  in 
early  fall,  by  sowing  about  one-fourth  bushel  seed  alone,  and  following 
with  harrow,  roller  or  brush.  I  prefer  harrowing  in,  after  harrowing  the 
ground  over  thoroughly  afier  plowing,  and  then  rolling  the  young  grass  in 
spring  after  freezes,  to  press  back  the  crown  into  the  ground.  I  think  a 
young  timothy  meadow  should  never  be  cut  the  first  year,  unless  from  an 
exceedingly  wet  spring  and  summer  there  is  a  luxuriant  growth,  and  then 
the  mower  should  be  run  sufficiently  high  to  leave  quite  an  aftermath  be- 
hind the  machine.  Timothy,  being  of  slow  growth,  if  cut  too  closely  the 
hot  sun  of  July  and  August  certainly  injures  the  roots  unless  protected 
especially  the  first  year.  The  only  pasturage  that  can  be  derived  from  a' 
timothy  meadow  is  in  the  late  fall,  and  then  only  at  the  risk  of  lessening 
the  succeeding  crop.  I  think  the  yield  of  hay  per  acre  of  a  timothy 
meadow  can  always  be  increased  by  combining  it  with  clover,  herds  grass 
or  orchard  grass,  but  they  will  lessen  the  market  value  of  the  hay.  The 
lands  of  Tennessee  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  timothy  are  not  very  ex- 
tensive. 

Ked-top  or  herds  grass,  (agrostis  vulgaris),  until  late  years,  numbered 
among  the  meadow  grasses  only,  and  limited  in  its  cultivation  to  such 
localities  as  were  too  wet  for  the  successful  growth  of  any  of  the  foregoing. 
It  was  supposed  by  most  persons  to  succeed  only  on  low,  marshy, 
flat  lands.  .Recently,  however,  it  is  becoming  a  great  favorite  and  more 
generally  adopted.  It  is  now  being  sown  upon  quite  a  variety  of  soils  in 
different  parts  of  the  State,  and  I  have  recently  ascertained  that  it  is  be- 
coming a  spontaneous  growth  along  many  of  the  mountain  ranges  of 
East  Tennessee.  My  experience  with  it  is  comparatively  limited,  and  I 
will  not  venture  to  give  any  very  decided  opinions  about  it  either  ag  a 
pasture  grass  or  hay  plant.  It  is  highly  recommended  by  such  authori- 
ties as  Flint,  and  other  prominent  agricultural  writers  of  the  country.  My 
own  opinion,  from  a  limited  experience,  is  that  it  is  a  very  valuable  ad- 
31 


482  APPENDIX. 

junct  to  our  meadows  in  thoroughly  covering  the  ground  and  thus  shad- 
ing the  ground,  thereby  enriching  the  soil  by  preserving  its  humidity  dur- 
ing the  summer. 

I  have  thus  enumerated  the  more  generally  known  and  important 
grasses  grown  in  Tennessee,  and  will  now  close  with  a  short  notice  of  a 
few  others  generally  known  as  forage  plants,  that  have  played  an  impor- 
tant part  in  the  production  of  animal  food,  and  which  hardly  belong  to 
the  grass  family.  The  millet  family,  (milium,)  although  they  have  here- 
tofore been  useful  as  a  hay-producer  in  the  rotation  of  crops,  being  annu- 
als, and  producing  large  yields  per  acre,  a  more  general  enlightenment 
and  familiarity  with  agricultural  science  has  numbered  their  days,  and 
now  only  grown  in  cases  where  dire  necessity  compels  a  complete  covering 
•f  the  ground  in  order  to  kill  out  some  noxious  pest,  or  where  the  land  is 
•wned  by  a  man  that  is  "  non  compos  mentis."  This  family  comprise 
Hungarian  grass,  German  or  Missouri  millet,  the  old  Southern  or  Egypt- 
ian millet,  Dhoura  corn,  broom  corn  orserghum  sacharatum  and  Chinese 
sugar  cane,  all  of  which  are  great  exhausters  of  soil,  by  far  greater  than  the 
profits,  possess  but  little  merit  as  forage  plants,  and  the  cultivation  of 
which  should  be  universally  condemned  by  all  good  agriculturists  from 
the  mountains  in  the  east  to  the  waters  in  the  west. 

B.  F.  COCKRILL. 

Richland  stock  farm,  Feb.  19, 1878* 


GRASSES  IN  BEDFORD  COUNTY. 


SHELBYVILLE,  TENNESSEE,  BEDFOED  COUNTY,  January  15,  1878. 
J.  B.  Killebrew,  Commissioner. 

DEAR  SIR — I  have  thought  that  a  description  of  the  grasses  grown  in 
this  county  (Bedford),  and  the  large  number  of  acres  that  are  peculiarly 
adapted  to  their  growth,  would  interest  you.  Soon  after  this  became  a 
county,  blue  grass  was  sown  on  one  of  the  knolls  of  this  county,  and 
about  that  time  it  was  found  growing  on  a  hill  called  Bald  Knob 
(because  it  has  no  timber  on  it),  near  Wartrace  depot,  and  on  another 
aear  Bellbuckle  depot.  On  a  farm  then  owned  by  Thos.  A.  Peacock, 
Esq.,  and  now  by  the  estate  of  the  late  Chancellor  Steele,  and  a  little 
later  on  the  place  occupied  by  our  Agricultural  Society,  as  a  fair  ground, 
blue  grass  was  sown.  From  these  points  blue  grass  has  spread  very 
rapidly,  and  much  has  been  sown  in  different  parts  of  the  county. 


APPENDIX.  483 

At  this  time  our  pasture  lands  are  green  and  bright,  with  a  large 
number  of  stock  grazing  contentedly  on  them,  in  many  instances  fat  and 
sleek  as  if  it  were  May.  Our  farmers  prize  this  grass  very  much,  and  I 
feel  confident  when  it  has  been  kept  for  a  winter  pasture  that  it  (with 
the  aid  of  some  straw,  corn  husks,  or  hay  for  their  stock  when 
the  snow  lies  deep  on  the  ground),  can  graze  about  as  many  cattle  or 
sheep  in  the  winter  as  in  the  summer  time ;  this  has  been  done  by 
Kobert  L.  Rankin  on  his  farm  near  Bellbuckle  depot  and  by  several 
others.  There  is  scarcely  an  acre  of  our  land  that  is  not  "glady"  that 
will  not  produce  blue  grass,  and  fully  one  half  of  our  land  will  produce 
this  grass  equal  to  any  lands  on  this  continent  when  it  is  properly  cared 
for. 

In  addition  to  blue  grass  for  pasturage  we  have  learned  that  herds 
grass  (red  top)  makes  a  most  excellent  pasture,  in  fact  it  stands  the  hot 
sun  and  drought  of  our  summers  better  than  either  blue  grass  or  orchard 
grass ;  it  affords  abundant  grazing  late  in  the  fall  and  early  winter  and 
rery  early  in  the  spring,  and  all  kinds  of  stock  love  to  graze  it.  In 
addition  to  these  two,  many  have  been  trying  orchard  grass  for  grazing 
purposes ;  all  like  it  and  say  that  it  is  a  very  early  grass  and  stands  our 
mild  winters  well,  and  having  a  much  larger  and  longer  leaf  than  blue 
grass  yields  a  very  large  amount  of  grazing.  Some  say  it  is  earlier  than 
blue  grass,  and  many  persons  who  have  tried  both  grasses  give  it  the 
preference,  for  in  addition  to  its  excellent  grazing  qualities  it  makes  a 
first  class  hay,  and  when  red  clover  is  sown  with  it  many  persons  regard 
it  as  the  best  meadow  a  farmer  could  have. 

The  writer  once  owned  a  pasture  of  15  acres  on  slightly  undulating 
land,  well  set  with  blue  grass,  orchard  grass  and  herds  grass,  that  for 
fifteen  years  was  one  of  the  best  pastures  he  ever  saw,  and  there  was 
110  season  of  the  year  that  cattle  and  sheep  could  not  find  good  grazing 
there,  and  in  the  spring,  summer  and  fall  mouths  it  appeared  to  be 
almost  inexhaustable. 

This  county  is  one  of  the  very  best  in  the  State  for  meadows  mixed 
with  timothy  and  herds  grass.  We  have  frequently  seen  in  our  mea- 
dows, timothy  4J  and  5  ft.  high,  growing  by  the  side  of  herds  grass  at 
least  3  ft.  high  and  sometimes  higher,  standing  very  thick  upon  the 
ground  and  producing  at  least  two  tons  of  excellent  hay  to  the  acre,  and 
this  on  land,  never  top-dressed  with  any  fertilizer,  the  only  manure  ever 
placed  upon  them  was  done  by  the  stock  as  they  graze.d  in  fall 

•aud  whiter.  A  large  amount  of  the  acreage  of  this  county  makes 
the  very  best  meadows,  and  there  are  lands  where  blue  grass  grows  most 
luxuriantly;  but  we  have  from  75, 000  to  100,000  acres  of  land  that  is 
rery  level,  known  as  the  "Flat  Woods,"  on  which  meadows  of  the  firrt 

quality  abound. 


484  APPENDIX. 

Our  farmers  are  turning  their  attention  each  year  more  and  more  to 
grazing  and  meadows,  and  find  that  hay  is  the  most  remunerative  crop 
that  can  be  grown  by  them  for  the  labor  and  expense  required  to  pro- 
duce it.  The  grazing  after  the  hay  is  removed  from  the  meadows  com- 
pensates the  owner  for  the  expense  in  harvesting  his  crop. 

In  addition  to  these  grasses,  red  clover  is  grown  more  or  less  by  almost 
every  farmer  in  the  country,  the  most  of  which  is  kept  for  grazing;  but 
many  of  our  farmers  save  it  for  hay,  which  is  easily  cured  and  the 
yield  per  acre  is  very  large.  Those  who  grow  clover  for  hay,  as  a  rule 
prefer  it  for  cattle,  sheep,  horses  and  mules,  to  an}^  other.  White 
clover  is  a  spontaneous  growth  in  this  county,  and  shows  itself  in  fields 
not  cultivated  and  in  pasture  land.  It  is  good  grazing  for  cattle  and 
sheep  at  any  time,  and  for  horses  and  mules  until  the  seed  ripens. 

Long  before  the  war  we  found  that  grasses  and  clover  paid  a  better 
per  cent  than  cotton,  and  its  cultivation  was  almost  entirely  abandoned. 
The  reeult  was  a  large  increase  was  seen  in  the  number  of  cattle,  sheep, 
horses,  mules  and  hogs  on  our  farms,  and  instead  of  our  lands  being  ex- 
hausted by  the  cultivation  of*cotton,  their  productiveness  has  been  pre- 
served and  to  a  large  extent  it  has  been  increased;  ^and  will  continue  to 
do  so  as  long  as  our  present  system  of  rotation  in  crops  is  preserved. 

This  is  one  of  the  largest  hog  raising  counties  in  the  State,  and  this  is 
attributable  to  the  abundance  of  red  clover  grown,  for  from  the  10th  of 
April  until  late  in  the  fall  it  affords  excellent  pasture  for  hogs,  and 
many  sell  their  hogs  from  these  pastures  for  early  fall  shipping,  after 
being  fed  but  short  time  with  corn.  Our  most  successful  hog  raisers  rely 
upon  their  clover  for  grazing  their  hogs,  and  com,  which  they  grow  in 
great  abundance,  to  fatten  them.  It  is  a  matter  of  constant  surprise  to 
those  who  do  not  understand  the  capacity  of  this  county  to  produce 
grasses,  clover  and  corn  when  they  see,  as  we  have  done  constantly 
through  the  past  year,  carload  after  carload  of  hogs  driven  to  our  town 
for  shipment,  where  our  packers,  Barrett  &  Landis,  could  have  found 
the  fourteen  or  fifteen  thousand  hogs  which  they  have  packed  during 
the  past  season,  averaging  over  260  Ibs.,  and  at  the  same  time  that  the 
county  should  be  more  than  supplied  with  pork  for  this  year's  consump- 
tion. These  facts  are  to  be  attributed  to  the  great  care  our  farmers  give 
to  their  clover  fields,  and'  the  corn  producing  capacity  of  our  lands, 
and  we  find  that  clover  grows  more  luxuriantly  as  we  increase  the  fer- 
tility of  our  soil  by  the  growth  of  clover  and  other  grasses.  Saplin 
clover  does  well  here,  and  we  have  seen  it  grow  over  6  feet  long,  but  the 
red  clover  is  preferred  for  all  purposes  except  to  turn  under  as  green 
sod. 

Two  gentlemen  this  winter  have  informed  me  that  they  have  each  a 
field  of  clover  upon  which  there  is  an  excellent  stand  and  growing 


APPENDIX.  485 

finely,  which  were  sown  over  ten  years  ago  and  that  one  crop  of  corn 
and  two  of  wheat  have  been  grown  on  these  fields  since  they  were 
sown. 

I  might  multiply  instances  of  this  kind,  but  I'deera  it  unnecessary  to 
5  ou  who  have  seen  in  the  past  so  much  of  this  county  and  know  its 
adaptability  to  the  growth  of  grasses  and  all  the  cereals.  Coupled 
with  these  advantages,  we  have  a  large  amount  of  pure  running  water 
upon  the  surface  of  our  lands,  so  it  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise  that  we 
should  ship  such  large  numbers  of  stock  of  every  kind,  and  that  we 
should  claim  this  as  one  of  the  best  stock-growing  counties  in  the  State. 
Our  people  are  freer  from  debt  than  those  of  any  county  of  our 
acquaintance,  and  the  fact  that  lands  where  blue  and  orchard  grasses 
grow  have,  in  more  than  one  instance,  sold  from  $50  to  $55  per  acre,  in 
payments,  almost  equal  to  cash,  without  scarcely  a  dwelling  on  them 
above  a  cabin,  but  having  good  barns,  speaks  well  for  our  prosperity. 

As  farmers,  we  have  learned  to  feel  that  grass  is  our  sheet  anchor 
arid  with  it  we  will  continue  to  sail  on  to  greater  prosperity  each  year. 

I  have  already  made  this  letter  too  long,  and  will  cease  to  write  more 
for  the  present,  hoping  to  see  you  with  us  soon,  I  remain  your  friend, 

THOMAS  H.  COLDWELL. 


GRASSES  IN  ROBERTSON  COUNTS. 


CEDAR  HILL,  TENNESSEE,  June  21st,  1878. 

J.  B.  Killebrew,  Commissioner  of  Agriculture: 

DEAR  SIR — Your  letter  was  received  some  time  since  asking  me  to  give 
you  a  few  items  on  the  grasses  and  their  adaptability  to  the  soil  of  Rob- 
ertson county,  and,  although  I  entertain  your  doubts  about  the  value  of 
what  I  can  say  on  the  subject,  ptill  will  try  to  give  you  the  result  of  my 
observation  and  short  experience. 

Owing  to  the  nature  of  our  soil,  blue  grass  is  not  so  spontaneous  or  lux- 
uriant in  its  growth  as  in  the  counties  lying  in  the  Central  Limestone 
Basin  of  Tennessee,  nevertheless,  it  flourishes  in  this  county,  and  wherever 
the  timber  has  been  removed  and  the  seed  town  on  the  virgin  soil,  this 
grass  grows  with  great  vigor.  The  leaves  of  our  white  oak  timber  are  so 
abundant  and  decay  so  slowly  that  they  will  smother  out  all  the  grasse 


486  APPENDIX. 

unless  the  trees  are  nearly  all  cut  down  ;  but  under  the  black  walnut  blur 
grass  is  invariably  found,  and  always  so  luxuriant  as  to  lead  to  the  convic- 
tion that  there  is  some  strong  affinity  between  them. 

Owing  to  the  red  clay  and  the  layers  of  chert  underlying  our  soil  which 
enables  it  to  withstand  dry,  hot  weather  without  parching,  blue  grass  i* 
more  reliable  in  n  season  of  drought,  and  much  less  frequently  killed  dur- 
ing summer  in  Eobertson  than  in  Davidson  and  the  contiguous  counties- 
It  is  also  a  noticeable  fact  that  in  our  old  fields,  which  from  one  cause  or 
another,  have  been  abandoned  and  suffered  to  go  for  several  years  without 
cultivation,  blue  grass  springs  up  spontaneously,  and  if  the  black  berry 
briers  and  the  broom'sedge,  our  greatest  pests,  are  burned  off  a  few  times 
to  give  the  grass  a  fair  opportunity  to  take  root  and  to  spread,  it  soo» 
forms  a  fine,  rich  pasture,  fresh  and  green  all  the  year  round.  Our  red 
clay  sub-soil  is  a  great  element  of  resuscitation,  and  when  exposed  to  the 
disintegrating  effects  of  thawing  and  freezing  it  soon  begins  to  form  a  new 
soil  on  the  galded  spots  so  common  on  the  hill  sides  of  the  country,  and 
if  a  little  brush — cedar  is  the  best — or  straw  or  litter  which  will  catch  and 
hold  the  particles  of  loose  clay  be  thrown  on  these  thin  spots,  and  thenblut 
grass  seed  be  freely  sown  among  the  brush,  we  can  soon  transform  our  red- 
fluted  old  fields  and  reproachful  looking  worn  out  spots  into  excellent 
pasture  land.  I  have  seen  this  so  fully  and  sufficiently  tried  as  to  thor- 
oughly establish  its  success.  Herds  grass  or  red  top  will  accomplish  the 
same  purpose,  and  will  perhaps  grow  even  more  rapidly,  though  it  will 
not  afford  so  much  grazing.  The  blue  grass  seems  to  flourish  equally  well 
on  hills  and  bottom  lands,  but  as^  unfortunately  corn  and  tobacco 
almost  exclusively  occupy  the  attention  of  our  farmers,  we  have  in  the 
county  but  a  limited  number  of  acres,  which,  beautiful  in  their  perennial 
green  coat  of  this  king  of  grasses,  delight  the  eye  wearied  with  the  sight 
of  endless  cultivation. 

Orchard  grass  grows  well,  and  is  especially  fine  for  pasture,  ranking  in 
this  particular  both  for  winter  and  summer  grazing,  next  to  blue  grass, 
and  in  many  places  is  pronounced  superior  to  it.  It  thrives  on  either 
high  or  low  lands,  but,  of  course,  grows  best  on  the  richest  soil,  and  if  mix- 
ed about  half  and  half  with  clover,  will  make  excellent  hay.  If  sown  by 
itself,  the  heads  being  large,  one,  by  using  a  hand  stripper,  can  easily  save 
his  own  seed  and  multiply  his  pastures  indefinitely.  It  grows  in  tussockf, 
and  if  not  sown  thick  enough  at  first,  as  is  very  apt  to  be  the  ease,  by  al- 
lowing it  to  go  to  seed  and  to  iall  down,  it  very  rapidly  thickens  itself  to 
almost  a  perfect  sward.  It  may  be  sown  either  in  the  early  fall  or  early 
spring.  March  I  regard  the  best  month,  and  the  ground  should  be  thor- 
oughly prepared. 

Herds  grass  is  more  extensively  cultivated  in  Robertson  than  any  other 
grass,  and  this  fact  would  naturally  lead  to  the  belief  that  on  our  soil  it 
is  best  suited  for  general  purpose?,  both  of  pasture  and  of  meadow.  While 
it  does  not  afford  the  grazing  of  blue  grass  it  makes  a  fair  fall  and  winter 


APPENDIX.  487 

pasture,  and  will  yield  a  satisfactory  crop  of  hay.  It  grows  well  on  all 
the  varieties  of  land  and  soil,  and  where  the  soil  is  thin  and  mixed  with 
that  whitish  clay  found  in  the  poorer  parts  of  the  county,  I  think  it  is  the 
only  grass  which  will  -give  a  paying  crop  of  hay.  I  have  no  hesitancy  in 
pronouncing  it  pre-eminently  the  grass  for  thin,wet  or  clayey  lands. 

Timothy,  with  many  of  our  farmers,  is  the  crop  most  relied  upon  for 
hay,  and  on  good  land  it  is  a  highly  remunerative  crop.  As  but  little  hay 
is  sold,  and  that  never  weighed,  I  cannot  estimate  the  yield  of  this  grawi 
per  acre.  A  meadow  under  ordinary  circumstances  will  not  last  longer 
than  four  years,  by  that  time  it  is  generally  ruined  by  broom  sedge.  Our 
timothy  meadows  make  good  sheep  pastures  from  November  till  April 
without  sustaining  any  estimable  damage.  A  smooth  soil,  loam  and  clay, 
and  high  lands  are  better  suited  for  timothy  than  the  siliceous  and  gravel- 
ly soils,  and  the  stronger  the  land  the  better  the  meadow  will  be.  Timothy 
should  be  sown  here,  unless  the  fall  is  very  dry,  in  September,  so  as  to  al- 
low it  to  become  well  rooted  before  the  freezes  come,  and  it  should  be  cov- 
ered with  a  roller.  It  is  best  to  sow  it  by  itself,  in  which  case  it  will  yield 
a  fair  crop  of  hay  the  next  summer.  It  is  more  frequently,  however, 
sown  with  wheat.  This  practice  is  unwise  as  only  a  small  crop  of  wheat 
can  be  made,  and  that  at  the  expense  and  injury  of  the  meadow,  which  IB 
expected  to  last  several  years.  Timothy  sown  in  the  spring  does  not  do 
well,  as  it  cannot  get  sufficient  root  to  stand  the  heat  of  summer. 

Clover  is  more  generally  used  for  pasture  than  any  other  grass.  Its 
popularity  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  can  be  seeded  at  a  small  cost  per  acre, 
and  that  it  affords  good  summer  grazing,  and  if  not  used  in  this  way,  is  a 
most  valuable  crop  to  turn  under.  Though,  like  blue  grass,  it  does  not 
flourish  here  as  in  the  Limestone  Basin,  still  clover  grows  luxuriantly  in 
Robertson  county.  On  fresh  land  which  has  been  cultivated  for  a  few 
years  in  tobacco  and  then  sown  in  wheat  and  clover,  I  have  seen  clover 
that  could  not  be  surpassed  any  where.  It  is  frequently  cut  for  hay,  and 
for  hogs  is  the  best  pasture  we  can  have,  putting  them  in  fine  condition  to 
fatten.  It  grows  on  all  of  our  lands  ;  is  fine  to  renovate  tired  and  worn 
soil.  But  for  hay  should  be  sown  on  rich  land  whether  hill  or  bottom. 
It  is  sown  in  the  spring  on  the  small  grains,  but  it  is  best  to  sow  it  with 
oats,  for  thereby  it  gets  the  advantage  of  a  good,  loose  seed  bed,  thoroughly 
prepared  at  the  time  of  sowing.  When  a  good  stand  of  clover  is  once  ob- 
tained, and  the  seeds  have  been  allowed  to  ripen  and  to  fall  on  the  ground, 
it  rarely  becomes  necessary  to  sow  again.  I  know  personally  of  hundreds 
of  acres  on  which  there  is  a  splendid  stand  of  clover,  where  there  has  not 
been  a  seed  sown  for  over  twenty  years.  During  this  time  the  fields  allud- 
ed to  have  been  cultivated  every  second  or  third  year  in  corn  or  tobacco 
followed  by  the  cereals,  and  as  regularly  as  these  crops  have  been  taken 
off  so  they  have  been  followed  by  a  fine  growth  'of  clover.  The  theory 
prevails  here  that  by  cultivation  the  root  of  the  clover  is  killed,  but  that 
quantities  of  seed  which  lie  deep  in  the  ground  for  years  without  sprout- 


488  APPENDIX. 

ing  or  rotting  are  brought  to  the  surface  by  that  same  cultivation,  and 
they  germinate  and  grow  with  the  crop  of  wheat  or  oats.  Owing  to  this 
fact  clover  possesses  a  value  and  property  peculiar  to  itself,  and  at  once 
become  the  cheapest  grass  we  have. 

I  have  now  given  you  as  concisely  as  I  could  the  perennial  grasses 
grown  in  this  country,  the  uses  and  adaptability  of  each  to  the  various 
kinds  of  soil,  and  nothing  remains  but  to  add  that  fortunately  the  raising 
of  annuals,  such  as  millet  and  Hungarian  grass  for  hay  has  been  almost 
entirely  abandoned,  both  on  account  of  their  inferiority  as  feed  and  the 
cost  and  labor  of  saving  the  crop.  For  the  latter  reason  coupled  with  the 
fact  that  it  has  suffered  terrible  ravages  from  rust  during  the  past  few 
years,  the  oat  crop  has  also  greatly  diminished.  I  hail  with  delight  as 
foreshadowing  greater  prosperity  and  better  cultivation  with  less  labor, 
the  seeding  of  meadows  and  the  sowing  of  the  perennial  instead  of  the 
annual  grasses.  In  this  respect  this  county  is  far  behind  many  others, 
and  while  I  readily  concede  that  for  quickness  and  spontaneity  of 
of  growth  many  lands  in  the  State  are  better  suited  for  the  pasture  and 
meadow  grasses  than  ours  ;  still  when  we  consider  our  eminent  superiority 
in  a  season  of  drought,  or  even  in  the  ordinary  heat  of  summer,  I  feel 
that  old  Kobertson  can  fairly  hold  her  own  in  the  sisterhood  of  counties 
"With  great  respect  I  am  your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  E.  WASHINGTON. 


CORN  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


The  grass  family  (Qraininace)  is  extensive,  and  by  far  the  most  valu- 
able to  man.  Indian  corn  or  maize  (zea  mays)  is  the  largest  of  all 
grasses.  It  stands  foremost  in  value  as  food  for  man  and  beast,  and  if 
properly  cultivated,  is  the  surest  crop  the  farmer  cau  raise.  No  cereal 
is  grown  with  less  difficulty,  nor  is  there  one  that  pays  so  well.  An  ex- 
amination of  the  structure  of  the  stalk  in  ear  shows  that  it  is  composed 
of  ten  divisions,  roots,  stalk,  sheathes,  husks,  stalks  of  ears,  leaves, 
silk,  tassel,  cob  and  grain.  The  roots  are  divided  into  three  classes,  the 
main  or  primary,  the  secondary  and  the  brace  or  aerial.  The  first  of 
these  disappear  very  soon  after  the  secondary  roots  begin  to  perform 
their  office,  and  the  brace  roots  show  themselves  soon  after  the  stalk 


APPENDIX.  489 

begins  to  joint.  Like  many  other  plants,  com  is  an  inside  grower,  (en- 
dogenous,) consisting  at  first,  of  whorls  or  circles  of  leaves  one  within 
the  other;  over  lapping  each  other  on  either  hand  until  the  entire  stalk 
is  grown.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  right  here  the  difference  between 
the  grasses.  Some  are  hollow  while  others  have  a  pith.  The  leaves 
are  the  lungs  of  the  plant.  Their  very  important  office  is  to  take  on  or 
absorb  carbonic  acid  gas  from  the  atmosphere.  Having  received  this 
the  plant  appropriates  the  carbon  to  its  own  use  and  at  the  same  time 
throws  off  oxygen.  This  operation  goes  on  only  in  the  day  time,  the 
sun's  light  and  heat  being  the  great  resolving  agent.  The  sheathes  do 
the  same  thing,  and  also  serve  as  a  protection  and  band  to  the  tender 
shoot.  The  husk  at  first  envelopes  the  cob  and  silks,  afterwards  the 
grain.  It  feeds  both  cob  and  corn  with  elements  obtained  from  the  at- 
mosphere. The  cob  is  the  axis  on  which  the  kernels  are  regularly  set 
It  is  the  direct  feeder  after  the  embryo  grain  is  formed  and  fecundated 
by  the  pollen  through  the  silk.  The  tassel  (staminate)  contains  the 
male,  and  the  silk  (pistillate)  the  female  part  of  the  plant.  The  pollen 
from  the  tassel  falls  upon  and  fertilizes  the  silk  and  the  silk  the  grain. 
If  from  weakness  or  other  causes  the  silk  fails  to  come  out  of  Uie  husk 
to  be  impregnated  by  the  pollen  the  corn  fails  to  appear  or  develop  on 
the  cob ;  hence  the  vacant  rows  so  frequently  seen  on  the  cob. 

A  further  examination  of  the  stalk  shows  an  ear,  or  the  commence- 
ment of  an  ear  on  every  joint  that  has  a  groove.  Generally  about  two- 
thirds  have  it,  and  in  every  one  is  seen  an  embryo  ear  undeveloped. 
The  question  arises  right  here,  why  this  incomplete  development?  I 
have  contended  for  several  years  that  every  such  organization  would  de- 
velop on  every  grooved  joint  were  proper  attention  given  to  selecting 
and  sowing  seed,  to  proper  culture  and  proper  plant-food. 

Like  all  other  cereals,  corn  has  so  deteriorated  by  bad  treatment  that 
it  has  not  health  enough  to  mature  even  one  good  ear  to  the  stalk.  With 
ordinary  treatment  all  other  grasses  develop  their  heads  or  ears  to  some 
extent,  and  why  should  not  corn  do  the  same  ?  For  several  years  I 
have  been  giving  corn  and  wheat  some  attention.  I  find  corn  suscepti- 
ble of  much  greater  improvement  than  most  farmers  are  willing  to  admit. 
It  is  not  hi  the  province  of  this  article  to  give  the  results  of  experi- 
ments. I  will,  however,  give  one  to  prove  that  there  is  much  room  for 
improvement  of  corn.  Several  years  ago  I  commenced  selecting  my 
seed  corn  in  the  field,  taking  only  those  stalks  that  ripened  earliest  and 
that  had  not  less  than  two  good  ears.  These  were  cut  up  as  soon  as  the 
husk  was  brown  and  the  ear  well  glazed,  and  shocked  in  the  field  to 
cure.  After  standing  a  month  or  more  the  top  ears  only  were  saved 
for  seed. 


490  APPENDIX. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  in  selecting  not  only  those  stalks  that 
have  the  greatest  number  of  ears,  but  those  that  look  most  like  corn — 
nice,  trim,  uniform,  vigorous  and  healthy.  Large  over-grown  stalks 
are  too  gross  and  too  sterile — they  cannot  be  made  prolific.  The  result 
of  this  method  of  saving  seed,  together  with  proper  culture,  has  in- 
creased my  yield  on  the  same  six  acres,  in  six  years,  from  20  to  7-r> 
bushels  per  acre. 

Before  treating  of  the  soil,  I  will  give  an  account  of  the  actual  loss 
most  farmers  sustain  in  ''pulling  fodder,"  "cutting  tops,"  and  letting 
their  corn  dry  up  in  the  field  before  it  is  gathered.  Fodder-pulling  in- 
jures the  grain  nearly  13  per  cent,  cutting  tops  9  per  cent.,  and  by  letting 
the  whole  crop  dry  up  in  the  field,  it  loses  20  per  cent,  of  its  ow» 
weight.  So  you  see  by  this  slip-shod  way  of  treating  the  best  and 
surest  crop  we  have  we  lose  nearly  50  per  cent,  of  it  all.  How  shall 
we  sa've  it  then?  you  ask.  In  a  very  simple  way.  When  fodder- 
pulling  time  comes  and  the  ears  are  well  glazed,  instead  of  taking  tht 
blades  off,  cut  the  stalks  up  close  to  the  ground,  and  shock  immedi- 
ately in  bunches  the  wind  cannot  twist  or  blow  down.  In  this  way  the 
fodder  is  all  saved,  and  the  stalk  too.  The  husk  is  much  better  and 
the  corn  loses  nothing,  but  makes  much  better  food,  much  better  feed, 
much  better  seed  and  much  more  money.  l 'But,"  you  say,  "it  will 
shrivel  and  become  loose  on  the  cob."  Not  a  bit  of  it!  All  the  sub- 
stance of  the  stalk  at  the  time  of  cutting  is  absorbed  by  the  ear,  and  it 
is  matured  in  the  same  way  that  wheat  is  when  cut  in  the  dough  state. 
This  method  insures  the  full  weight,  and  saves  the  20  per  cent,  lost  by 
the  old  plan. 

Another  item.  The  stalk  fodder  and  husk  cured  in  this  way  are 
worth  at  least  $3  per  ton  to  any  farmer;  whereas,  if  left  to  die  in  the 
field,  they  will  not  amount  from  a  hundred  acres  to  a  day's  wages. 

Any  soil  can  be  made  to  produce  corn,  provided  it  is  not  too  wet. 
Soils  differ  so  materially  even  on  the  same  farm,  that  the  farmer, 
to  produce  good  crops,  has  to  make  them  a  real  study.  Once  knowing 
them,  and  what  they  need  and  demand,  he  very  easily  increases  the 
yield.  For  corn,  land  should  be  plowed,  turning  the  sod  only  as  deep 
as  the  grass  roots  extend,  at  the  same  time  subsoiled  with  a  heavy 
subsoiler  and  a  strong  team.  The  best  fertilizer  a  farmer  of  limited 
means  can  use  for  his  corn  crop,  can  be  made  behind  his  cows.  Straw, 
chaff,  leaves,  muck,  surface  soil,  barnyard  scrapings,  refuse  of  every 
description,  well  tempered  with  the  droppings  and  manure  water  of  the 
cow  stalls  make  as  good  compost  as  the  farmer  needs.  His  compost 
heap  must  be  kept  under  cover,  and  should  be  turned  over  at  least  once 
a  month.  The  straw,  chaff  and  leaves  should  never  be  thrown  upon 
the  heap  until  the  cattle  have  well  wet  them. 


APPENDIX.  491 

In  conclusion,  I  must  urge  upon  my  brother  farmers  the  importance 
of  putting  in  less  land  and  preparing  it  better.  With  good  seed,  one  acre 
well  cultivated  will  yield  50  bushels,  which  gives  infinitely  more  satis- 
faction and  is  done  with  much  less  labor  and  expense  than  the  skim- 
ming over  of  ten  acres  with  the  same  result.  Almost  any  of  our  up- 
land soils  can  be  made  to  produce  50  bushels  by  a  little  scientific  culture 
and  saving  of  seed. 

A.    E.    BLUNT. 

Agricultural  Station,  Mouse  Creek,  East  Tennessee. 


492  SOEGHUM. 


The  following  article  on  Sorghum  was,  by  accident,  left  out 
of  its  proper  place,  which  should  have  been  under  cereals. 


SORGHO  SUCRE. 

CHINESE  SUGAR  CORN— (Sorghum  nigrum.} 

Has  an  erect  stem,  six  to  twelve  feet  high,  smooth ;  leaves  linear, 
flexons,  curving,  bending  at  the  ends.  Flowers  in  a  panicle  at  the  top, 
turning  as  it  ripens  from  a  green  to  a  purplish  color. 

In  1854,  some  insignifi- 
cant packages  of  seeds  were 
sent  from  the,  then,  patent 
office,  bearing  this  inscrip- 
tion : 


(Sorgho  Sucre.} 

(Good  for  fodder,    green   or  dry, 
and  for  making  sugar. ") 

Who  could  have  foreseen, 
from  these  few  characters, 
that  a  plant  was  then  being 
added  to  this  country  more 
important  than  any  since  the 
discovery  of  America  and 
the  discovery,  to  Europeans, 
of  Indian  corn? 

In  the  midst  of  the  great 
success  of  the  New  World 
in  agricultural  products,  the 


SORGHUM.  493 

Old  World  sent  this  boon  to  her  offspring  as  a  token  of 
good  will ;  and,  in  introducing  it  into  notice,  the  agent, 
Dr.  J.  Browne,  has  done  more  real,  solid  good,  than  all 
the  great  conquerors  of  the  nations.  If  the  Agricultural 
Bureau  of  the  United  States  had  never  done  aught  else, 
this  one  thing  would  more  than  have  compensated  for  all 
the  expense  it  has  been  to  the  Government.  It  has 
added  the  one  thing  needful  to  the  farmer,  it  has  made  him 
independent  and  enabled  him  to  raise  his  own  supply  of 
syrup,  if  not  of  sugar. 

But  see  how  modest,  u  Good  for  fodder,  green  or  dry, 
and  for  making  sugar/'  And  thus  this  humble  package 
went  to  the  country,  seeking  some  one  to  make  it  famous. 
Many,  very  many,  threw  it  aside  altogether.  Some  planted 
it,  and  gave  it  untried  to  their  stock.  The  stock  soon  toUl 
its  value  as  a  forage,  and  some  few  squeezed  a  tumblerful  of 
its  juice  and  tested  it  with  the  saccharometer.  They  found 
about  16  or  17  per  cent,  of  sugar.  Some  tasted  it,  and  it 
tasted  sweet.  Two  made  a  gill  or  two  of  syrup,  and,  not 
knowing  how,  did  not  report  much  success,  but  promised  to 
try  it  next  year.  All  concurred  in  one  thing,  it  was  a  great 
accession  to  the  forage  crop  of  America.  And  yet  this 
plant  was  destined  at  a  very  early  day  to  supply  the  poor 
of  the  South  with  the  great  and  almost  the'only  luxury  of  a 
long,  tedious  and  bloody  war. 

But  the  reports,  meagre  as  they  were,  satisfied  the  De- 
partment: it  was  all  that  it  had  been  represented.  So  the 
successful  experiments  were  published  and  more  seed  was 
procured  and  broadly  distributed  over  the  land.  The 
second  year,  a  furor  began.  It  jumped  at  once  into  popular 
favor  and  established  itself,  not/  only  as  a  magnificent 
forage  crop,  but  also  as  a  syrup  cane.  Within  a  year  or  two 
"sugar  has  been  made  from  it  of  good  quality,  and  during  a 
recent  visit  to  the  Agricultural  Department  at  Washington, 
I  saw  specimens  of  sugar  manufactured  from  a  new  variety 
as  excellent  in  flavor  and  color  as  the  best  New  Orleans 


494  SORGHUM. 

sugar.  I  distributed  some  of  the  seeds  of  this  new  variety, 
and  I  confidently  predict  that  Tennessee  will,  in  ten  years, 
make  sugar  enough  for  her  own  consumption  at  a  cost  less 
than  five  cents  per  pound. 

HISTORY. 

In  the  fall  of  1853,  Dr.  Jay  Browne  was  sent  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  to  Europe,  to  gather  seeds  for 
distribution  from  the  office.  He  saw  a  small  patch  of  sor- 
ghum at  Verrieres,  near  Paris,  and  being  struck  with  it? 
resemblance  to  corn  thought  it  would  be  an  accession  to  our 
forage  crops,  and  possibly  might  be  used  as  a  sugar  plant. 

Four  years  before,  M.  de  Montigny  had  sent  the  seed 
from  the  North  of  China  to  the  Geographical  Society  of 
Paris,  in  a  package  of  many  different  kinds  of  seeds. 
They  were  planted,  and  but  one  single  sorghum  seed  germ- 
inated. The  product  of  this  plant  was  distributed,  and  the 
next  year,  so  great  was  the  demand,  a  gardener  of  Paris 
sold  his  entire  crop  to  Vilmoriu,  Audrieux  &  Co.,  of  Paris, 
for  a  franc  a  seed.  Through  them  it  was  sent  over  the 
whole  of  Europe  and  America,  for  it  was  on  their  farm 
Mr.  Browne  saw  it  growing. 

In  1850,  Mr.  Leonard  Wray,  of  the  East  Indies,  a 
practical  sugar  planter,  on  a  visit  to  Kaffir-land,  found  the 
imphee,  another  species  of  sugar  cane,  growing  around  the 
huts  of  the  natives,  which  they  cultivated  for  its  chewing 
qualities.  On  examination,  he  discovered  its  rich  saccha- 
rine character,  and  was  satisfied  of  its  value.  He  there- 
fore brought  it  with  him  to  England  and  had  it  planted 
there,  as  well  as  in  France  and  Belgium.  He  memorialized 
the  French  minister  of  war,  and  also  Mr.  Buchanan,  who 
was  minister  in  England  at  that  time  He  afterwards 
cultivated  it  in  the  West  Indies,  Brazil,  the  Mauritius, 
Australia,  Turkey,  Egypt  and  in  this  country. 

The  Kaffirs  cultivated  sixteen  varieties,  that  differed  i» 
the  amount  of  saccharine  principle,  as  well  as  in  the  time 


SORGHUM.  495 

required  to  mature.  In  1856,  Mr.  Wray  exhibited  sugar, 
molasses,  alcohol,  plants  and  seeds  of  the  imphee  at  the 
Paris  Exposition,  and  not  only  obtained  a  silver  medal, 
but  a  grant  of  twenty-five  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Algiers 
was  made  him  by  the  French  government,  that  he  might 
prosecute  his  researches.  During  this  same  year,  Orange 
Judd,  of  New  York,  distributed  25,000  packages  of  seed 
to  his  subscribers,  speeding  them  throughout  the  country. 
In  1857,  Mr.  Wray  brought  to  the  United  States  the  seeds 
of  several  varieties  of  Imphee.  So  then,  when  Mr.  Browne 
obtained  the  seeds  it  was  really  in  its  initial  state  of  cultiva- 
tion in  France.  It  had  been  grown  in  China  from  time 
immemorial.  But  with  the  exclusiveness  of  that  people, 
its  very  existence  had  been  jealously  guarded  from  the 
world. 

The  same,  or  a  similar  plant,  had  been  cultivated  in 
Europe  at  different  periods  during  the  dark  ages,  but  the 
want  of  intercourse,  and  the  oppressive  feudal  system  of 
that  day  had  repressed  any  advancement  in  science  and  arts, 
as  well  as  in  agriculture. 

The  elder  Pliny,  in  the  first  century,  describes  a  plant 
under  the  name  of  milium  quod  ex  India  in  Italium  inveetum 
nigro  eolore,  (a  millet  of  dark  color  brought  from  India  to 
Italy).  Millium  means  thousands,  and  refers  to  the  number 
of  seeds  on  a  plant.  Fuchius  describes,  in  1542,  a  plant 
cultivated  in  Belgium,  called  Sorghi.  In  1552,  Fragus 
says,  in  a  work  on  botany,  a  Panicum  Plinii  was  cultivated 
in  Germany,  and  accurately  describes  this  plant.  In  1591, 
Gomer  names  this  same"  plant  Sorghum.  In  Italy,  in  1595, 
in  his  commentaries  on  Dioscorides,  Matthioli  calls  it, 
Indicum  Milium,  or  Indian  millet.  Gerard,  an  English 
writer,  in  1597,  describes  this  and  other  varieties  of  Sor- 
ghum, as  Dhouro  corn,  Broom  corn  and  Chocolate  corn. 

Thus  it  is  seen,  that  this  plant,  however  new  to  us,  was 
cultivated  in  England,  Belgium  and  Italy,  in  the  16th 
century,  and  that  it  was  known  to  Pliny  in  the  1st  century. 


496  SOKGHUM. 

Its  uses  were  described  as  so  various,  that  it  is  supposed  all 
the  varieties  of  Sorghum  were  confounded  by  these  differ- 
ent authors.  It  was  recommended  as  fodder  for  stock,  food 
for  poultry  and  hogs,  and  for  a  syrup ;  while  the  Italians 
called  it  melica  from  its  resemblance  to  honey.  It  was 
described  as  having  seeds,  various  in  color,  from  rufous  to 
black,  from  white  to  yellow  and  red,  and  they  were  said  to 
make  an  excellent  bread.  The  bread  had  a  pinkish  tinge, 
being  colored  by  the  husks,  which  could  «ot  be  entirely 
separated  from  the  seed.  Through  the  caravans  of  the 
Syrian  desert,  Sorghum  was  carried  from  Asia  to  Africa, 
and  there,  under  the  changes  of  climate,  soil  and  moisture, 
new  varieties  originated,  and  we  have  the  Imphee  canes. 

Linnaeus  calls  it  Holeus  Saccharatum,  and  the  Dhouro 
corn  he  calls  Holeus  Sorghum.  But  Persoon,  and  others 
since,  have  separated  the  two,  and  applied  to  the  sugar  cane 
the  general  name  Sorghum,  and  its  specific  name  Nigrum, 
from  the  color  of  its  seeds.  These  plants  are  all  called 
Sorghum  in  the  East  Indies. 

VARIETIES. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  cane,  and,  while  the  descrip- 
tion at  the  head  of  the  article  will  give  the  generic  charac- 
ters, it  will  not  the  specific  differences  of  the  various  kinds. 
But  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  the  botanic  description  of 
each  variety. 

1st  Kace — EUSORGHUM. 
True  Chinese  Sugar  Cane,  (already  described). 

2nd  Kace — IMPHEE. 

1.    Proscocia,  (early  Sorgo).     2.    Ooui-se-a-na,  (Otahei- 
tan).     3.  White  Imphee,  (Nee-a-ga-na).     4.  Black  Imphee, 
Nigerrima).     5.  Red  Imphee,  (Cerasiua,  cherry  red)  Shla- 
goo-va.     6.  Liberia,  (Liberian). 


SORGHUM.  497 

In  Tennessee,  the  nomanclature  is  shortened  by  all  being 
called  "  red,"  or  "  black,"  and  "Chinese,"  or  "African." 

Sorghum,  submitted  to  a  pressure  of  ten  tons,  will  yield 
about  60  per  cent,  of  juice,  leaving  40  per  cent,  of  woody 
fibre,  gum,  juices,  etc.  Of  this  60  per  cent.,  about  10  per 
cent,  is  sugar,  both  cane  and  grape,  or,  if  not  'reduced  to 
sugar,  it  will  make  about  25  per  cenf.  of  syrup,  or  15  per 
cent,  of  the  expressed  juice. 

However,  in  fact,  this  amount  varies  very  much,  accord- 
ing to  the  soil  on  which  it  is  raised.  On  rich  bottom  land, 
where  the  cane  grows  to  be  very  tall  and  large,  there  is 
more  water  and  less  sugar  in  the  juice,  while  on  poor, 
sandy,  dry  land  the  proportion  is  much  greater.  In  some 
specimens  of  syrup,  when  boiled  down  thick  and  allowed 
to  stand,  crystals  of  sugar  will  form  all  through  it.  These 
crystals  are  in  the  form  of  a  modified  rhombic  prism.  But 
in  the  generality  of  specimens,  from  the  presence  of  an  acid, 
the  cane  sugar  is  converted  into  glucose  and  no  manipula- 
tion is  sufficient  to  cause  it  to  crystallize.  A  few  years  ago, 
at  one  of  the  expositions  held  in  the  city  of  Nashville,  ajar 
of  this  sugar  was  on  exhibition,  and  there  is  a  fair  specimen 
now  in  the  cabinet  of  this  Bureau,  and,  as  before  stated, 
some  excellent  specimens  at  Washington.  Should  an  early 
and  cheap  means  be  devised  to  secure  rapid  crystallization 
the  result  will  be  to  bring  down  the  price  of  sugar.  Mo- 
lasses, which  sold  at  one  dollar  per  gallon,  was  brought,  by 
the  introduction  of  sorghum  syrup,  down  to  twenty-five  and 
thirty  cents.  There  is  so  little  difference  between  this  grape 
and  cane  sugar,  that  it  is  to  be  hoped  some  process  may  yet 
be  invented  by  which  the  syrup  can  be  crystalized  at  will. 
The  constituents  are  the  same,  only  having  one  equivalent 
more  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen  than  carbon.  It  is  undoubt- 
edly due  to  the  presence  of  some  acid,  as  cane  sugar  can  be 
converted  into  glucose,  by  the  addition  of  acids,  or  by  pass- 
ing a  stream  of  air  through  the  boiling  syrup.  In  this  in- 
ventive age  the  mind  of  man  has  only  to  be  turned  to  this 
subject  and  it  will  be  done.  32 


498  SORGHUM. 

The  Imphee  cane,  as  a  rule,  produces  more  crystals  in 
the  syrup  than  the  Chinese,  consequently  the  latter  is  more 
universally  cultivated,  being  better  suited  to  making  syrup. 
Besides,  the  African  or  Imphee  cane  grows  much  taller  and 
is  easily  blown  down  by  high  winds,  making  a  tangled 
mass  in  the  field,  very  difficult  to  harvest. 

CULTIVATION   AND   HARVESTING}. 

Sorghum  will  grow  and  thrive,  like  Dhouro,  on  the  poor- 
est soils.  When  the  earth  is  parched  up  by  drought  it 
maintains  its  fresh,  green  color,  and  continues  to  grow. 
However,  it  will  thrive  better  on  rich  land,  and,  though  the 
juice  may  have  more  water,  it  will  make  far  more  syrup. 
The  roots  of  sorghum  penetrate  the  soil  farther  than  any 
other  cereal,  and  consequently  deep  plowing  is  absolutely  re- 
quisite for  a  full  crop.  Not  only  should  the  plow,  but  the 
subsoiler  should  also  be  applied.  On  good  land  it  grows  to 
a  bight  of  15  to  18  feet,  o'n  poor,  badly  ; prepared  land,  it 
stops  at  five  or  six  feet.  Because  it  will  grow  on  poorer 
land  than  other  plants  is  no  evidence  that  poor  land  is  bet- 
ter for  it.  Therefore  let  the  land  be  in  good  heat  and  the 
increased  quantity  of  syrup  will  well  repay  the  labor.  On 
gravelly  or  sandy  subsoils,  the  roots  will  go  four  or  five  feet 
deep,  and  on  this  kind  of  land,  if  rich,  it  will  make  far 
more  syrup  and  of  a  better  quality. 

It  should  be  planted  in  drills  three  feet  apart,  and  in  four 
or  five  days  the  young  tender  stalks  will  come  up,  looking 
very  much  like  grass.  But  it  will  soon  begin  to  grow  rap- 
idly, and  outstrip  grass  or  weeds.  When  three  or  four 
inches  high,  it  should  be  chopped  and  thinned  out,  and  but 
little  more  work  need  be  done  to  it.  Two  plowings  are  all 
it  should  receive,  as  the  roots  penetrate  the  ground  so  thick- 
ly the  plant  would  receive  more  injury  than  benefit  if  plow- 
ed after  it  is  three  or  four  feet  high.  Besides,  by  that  time 
the  ground  is  so  shaded  by  lateral  branches  and  suckers  the 
weeds  will  effect  no  material  injury. 


SORGHUM  499 

Much  difference  of  opinion  existed  at  first,  and  still  ex- 
ists, as  to  the  best  time  of  cutting.  Some  assert  when  the 
.seeds  are  in  the  milky  state,  others  when  they  are  fully  ma- 
tured, is  the  most  favorable  time.  A  slight  degree  of  frost 
does  not  injure  it,  and  this  opinion  has  caused  the  loss  of 
many  a  crop,  for,  with  our  usual  procrastination,  this  belief 
is  allowed  to  influence  many  to  let  it  stand  until  a  severe 
frost  comes,  when  the  cane  is  rendered  worthless.  When- 
ever it  freezes,  fermentation  ensues,  and  it  will  not  make 
syrup  at  all,  or  if  it  does  it  is  black  and  has  a  disagreeable 
odor.  But  repeated  experiments  have  demonstrated  the 
fact  that  early  cut  cane  makes  the  best  and  cleanest  molasses. 
Still  if  the  farmer  has  a  large  crop,  he  will  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  testing  it  in  all  stages,  for  it  will  take  a  long  time 
to  express  the  juice  of  a  large  crop  and  boil  it  down. 

When  the  seeds  are  in  the  milky  state,  let  the  stripping 
and  boiling  begin.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  go  into  .a 
lengthy  detail  of  syrup  making,  it  being  rather  our  province 
to  treat  of  sorghum  as  a  cattle  food,  than  otherwise,  and  we 
will  only  give  a  general  description.  Besides,  since  the  in- 
vention of  cane  mills  and  evaporators,  there  is  hardly  a 
man  in  the  State  who  is  not  thoroughly  conversant  with  the 
process.  One  thing  every  one  should  bear  in  mind  and  that 
is,  do  not  be  too  particular  to  press  every  particle  of  juice 
from  the  stalk.  The  first  pressure  well  applied  will  get, 
generally  speaking,  all  the  saccharine  principles,  the  second 
pressure  only  sending  out  gums,  cellulose  and  some  color- 
ing matters.  The  syrup  would  be  clearer  and  sweeter  if  the 
outer  rind  of  the  stalk  could  be  stripped  off  and  only  the 
pith  submitted  to  pressure.  Let  the  juice  be  strained  in  a 
blanket,  and  boiled  as  rapidly  as  possible  in  a  shallow  pan. 
This  is  all  that  is  requisite.  Some  use  the  continuous, 
some  the  interrupted  pans.  The  former  are  becoming  more 
generally  used,  that  is,  pans  that  receive  the  raw  juice  at 
one  side  and  discharge  the  molasses  at  the  other.  Some- 
times it  happens  that  the  syrup  when  boiled  to  a  sufficient 


500  SORGHUM. 

consistency  does  crystallize  without  any  known  cause.  Wheii 
it  is  discovered  to  do  so,  the  farmer  might  take  advantage 
of  this  accident  and  very  easily  make  his  own  sugar.  And 
to  test  its  capacity  to  form  crystals  a  small  quantity  at  va- 
rious times  of  evaporating  might  be  boiled  to  a  point  lower 
and  thicker  than  for  syrup  and  set  aside  to  stand  two,  three 
or  four  days.  If  crystals  are  thrown  down  in  the  vessel 
there  is  then  reason  to  believe  more  of  it  will  do  so.  He 
can,  therefore,  should  he  desire  to  make  his  own  sugar,  boil 
it  to  the  proper  consistency,  or  until  the  steam  comes  up 
through  the  syrup  with  a  burst,  and  set  it  off  in  tubs  to 
granulate.  Sometimes,  however,  this  does  not  take  place  for 
a  few  weeks,  or  even  months.  In  order  to  expedite  the 
process,  it  should  be  kept  in  a  close,  warm  room,  heated  up 
to,  at  least,  90  degrees.  This  can  be  easily  done  by  having 
the  tubs  or  barrels  of  syrup  in  a  room  made  tight,  and  heat- 
ed by  a  stove.  With  but  little  replenishing  of  wood  the 
stove  may  be  kept  hot  continuously.  When  the  granula- 
tion has  taken  place  fully  let  the  whole  mass,  molasses  and 
all,  be  put  into  stout  cloth  bags  and  hung  up  to  drain.  Or 
it  can  be  put  into  conical  tin  moulds,  shaped  like  a  sugar 
loaf,  with  an  opening  at  the  bottom  covered  by  a  wire  sieve 
such  as  is  used  for  straining  milk.  The  bags,  however,  are 
cheaper  and  equally  as  effective.  Here  let  it  remain  for  a 
sufficient  number  of  days,  to  allow  all  the  molasses  to  pass 
off.  It  can  then  be  taken  down  and  mixed  with  a  very 
small  quantity  of  water  and  redrained,  and  this  application 
of  water  can  be  repeated  until  the  sugar  becomes  as  white  as 
desired.  The  water  can  then  be  reduced  by  evaporation,  to 
to  the  desired  consistency  of  molasses.  There  are  many 
other  processes,  and  machines  for  making  sugar,  that  have 
been  invented,  for^sale,  but  they  all  resolve  themselves  into 
the  above  at  last,  which  process  belongs  to'  any  one  who 
wishes  to  use  it. 

In  the  manufacture   of  the   Southern  Cane  sugar,  lime 
water,  (white  wash)  is  used  to  clarify  it.     At  first  this  was 


SORGHUM.  501 

used  in  sorghum,  but  it  was  soon  found  that  it  blackened 
the  syrup  so  much  that  no  after  treatment  would  restore 
its  clear  color.  Besides,  it  gave  it  a  very  disagreeable  al- 
kaline taste.  Afterwards  the  white  of  eggs  was  used, 
which  did  very  well,  but  further  manufacture  brought  out  the 
discovery  that  it  contained  so  much  gum  it  would  coagulate 
and  clarify  itself  better  without  the  addition  of  anything 
with  it.  Skimming  easily  removes  all  impurities  that 
arises  upon  the  surface. 

The  amount  of  syrup  procured  from  an  acre  of  ground  is 
as  various  as  are  the  methods  of  cultivation  and  characters 
of  the  soil.  From  forty  to  two  hundred  gallons  may  be 
considered  the  range,  and  when  it  is  considered  that  a  cul- 
tivator can  take  his  choice  between  the  two  quantities,  it 
may  seem  that  there  is  cause  for  emulation. 

But  it  is  rather  as  a  forage  crop  that  this  plant  properly 
belongs  in  this  treatise.  Its  uses  are  almost  as  various  as 
Indian  corn  itself.  As  has  been  already  stated,  it  is  greed- 
ily eaten  in  all  stages  by  stock  of  every  kind.  The  seeds 
are  abundant,  and  one  acre  of  good  corn  will  make 
from  forty  to  sixty  bushels  of  seed.  These  can  be  cut 
from  the  corn  and  stored  for  use,  taking  care  to  spread  the 
heads  until  they  dry,  when  they  make  good  food  for 
cattle,  horses,  sheep,  hogs  and  poultry.  When  ground 
into  flour  they  make  good  bread.  Both  the  seeds  and  the 
expressed  juice  have  been  extensively  used  in  distillation, 
large  quantities  of  alcohol  and  sorghum  brandy  being  an- 
nually made  from  them.  During  the  war  it  formed  almost 
the  only  resource  of  the  South  for  whiskey,  all  grains  being 
in  too  much  demand  for  distillers  to  use  them. 

But  probably  it  possesses  more  good  qualities  as  a  green 
soiling  plant  than  any  other  one.  Let  it  be  sown  either 
broadcast  or  thickly  drilled  with  a  seed  drill  very  early  in 
the  spring,  with  about  one  bushel  of  seed  to  the  acre,  and 
there  is  no  end  to  its  feeding  capacity.  It  will  yield  from 
20  to  30  tons  of  green  fodder  to  the  acre,  that,  when  dry, 


502  SOKGHUM. 

will  make  three  or  four  tons  of  the  sweetest  and  best  of  hay. 
and  stock, will  eat  up  the  last  vestige  of  it.  The  proper 
time  for  cutting  is  when  the  heads  begin  to  flower,  when  it 
can  be  cut  and  bundled  as  corn  fodder,  or  left  spread  on  the 
ground,  if  the  weather  is  good,  for  several  days,  and  it  will  dry 
enough  to  store  bat  not  in  too  large  a  bulk.  Its  stems  are  so 
succulent  that  it  will  not  cure  quickly,  the  juices  in  it,  how- 
ever, will  sugar  directly,  and  then  it  will  keep  as  well  as 
timothy.  It  possesses  fattening  qualities  in  an  eminent 
degree,  and  nothing  like  it  was  ever  used  for  improving  a 
drove  of  mules.  But  if  the  farmer  has  a  drove  of  mules  or 
herd  of  cattle  or  milch  cows,  it  can  be  fed  to  them  from  the 
the  time  it  is  two  feet  high,  and  they  will  eat  it  with 
avidity.  By  the  time  a  field  is  gone  over,  it  will  be  ready 
to  cut  again,  as  the  root  freely  throws  up  new  suckers,  and 
will  continue  to  do  so  until  stopped  by  the  frost.  Thus,  as 
many  as  three  crops  can  be  cut  betore  it  is  destroyed  by  the 
cold.  Or,  if  it  is  not  wanted  as  green  forage,  it  can  be 
cut  at  blossoming,  at  least  twice,  without  resowing.  And 
the  second  crop  will  be  as  good  as  the  first.  A  mule  raiser 
in  Williamson  county  has  several  large  racks,  and  as  soon 
as  the  hay  is  in  condition  to  cut,  he  draws  a  load  to  each 
rack  daily,  and  the  mules  are  allowed  to  go  to  Had  libitum,  so 
the  farmer  has  only  to  give  them  grain  to  complete  the 
process  of  fattening. 

With  the  introduction  of  sorghum  into  Tennessee  agri- 
culture, it  does  seem  that  the  last  desideratum  of  the  farmer 
is  supplied.  With  a  climate  the  most  salubrious  and  equa- 
ble, a  soil  the  most  various  and  comprehensive,  it  sends 
into  the  market,  annually,  grain  and  hay  of  every  descrip- 
tion. Her  cattle  and  sheep  are  sent  in  large  numbers  into 
Northern  cities,  while  her  mules  and  horses  supply  the 
teams  of  the  South.  Fruits  and  vegetables  anticipate  the 
gardens  of  the  North,  and  now  she  is  able  to  draw  a  plant 
from  Africa  or  Asia  to  supply  her  people  with  an  ample 
quantity  of  home-made  syrups  and  sugars. 


SORGHUM.  503 

In  1870  the  total  production  of  sorgum  molasses  in  the 
United  States  was  16,050,089  gallons  against  6,749,123 
gallons  in  1860. 

Gallons. 

Indiana  produced  in  1870 2,026,212 

Ohio  "  "        2,023,427 

Illinois        "  "        1,960,478 

Kentucky    "  " 1,740,453 

Missouri      "  "        1,730,171 

Tennessee    "  " 1,254,701 

Iowa  "  "        .. .  - ...  1, 218, 635 


INDEX 


PAGE. 

Agricultural  system  of  England      6 
France..       6 
"  "       Tennessee 

deprecated 7 

Alfalfa  145 

American  Senna 428 

Appendix 449 

Acacia  Julibrissim 428 

Achilia  millifolium 33 

Agrostis  Alba 207 

like  Panic  grass 219 

canina 70,  236 

perennis 74,  237 

scabra 70,  237 

stolonifera 33,     70 

vulgaris 33,70,     84 

Aira  flexuosa 74 

Aira  ceaspitosa 73,  225 

"    flexuosa 72,  197 

Algarobia  glandulosa  413 

Alopecurus 29,  39,  70,  154 

Aaiorpha  Fruticosa 421 

Amphicarpsea  Monpica 426 

Analysis  of  AnthyllisVulneraria    34 
Anthyllis  Culneraria    35 

"        Aftermath 36 

Average    of    all    the 

grasses 36 

Analysis  of  blue  grass 36,  178 

Barley  heading  out  34,   35 

Barley .34,  314 

"        Barley  grass 36 

Buckwheat 334 

Beans  .". 335 

Beers 322 

Clover,  red  34,  35,  36,  37, 
127,  129,  208 
"        Clover  leaves,  stalks 

and  flowers 130 

"        Clover  and  grass  hay 

compared 134 

Clover  Alsike 36,  144 

"        Clover,  white... 35,  36,  37, 
70,  208 


Analys 
« 


PAGE. 

of  Clover,  yellow 36 

Clover,  incarnate  ...  36,  37 
75,  145 
Clover,     red,     before 

blossom 37 

Clover,  red,  full  blos- 
som      37 

Clover,     white,     full 

blossom 37 

Clover,  Swedish  34,  35,  36 
Clover,  Swedish,  ear- 
ly blossom  37 

Crested  dogs  tail 36 

Cereals,  green,  light..  34 
Cereals,  green,  heavy  34 

Cereals 314,335 

Corn,  yellow  Penn  ...  356 
Corn,  Northern  and 

Southern  357 

Corn    stalks,    shucks 

and  fodder 367 

Corn  before  and  after 

eusilage 386 

Corn,     green    fodder 

and  clover 339 

Corn,     white    gourd 

seedMd 356 

Cow  manure 299 

Dead  ripe  hay 34,    35 

English  rye  grass 36 

Esparsette  34,     37 

Field  sparry 36,    37 

Green  vetches 34,     35 

Green  pea  in  flower...  34 
Green  rape,  young  ...  34 
Grass  before  blossom  37 
Grass  a  f ter  bl  ossoin ...  37 

Harter  Schwingel 36 

Hay 145 

Hay,  dead  ripe 34 

Hungarian  millet..35,     37 
Hungarian  millet,  gr'n  34 
Hungarian  millet  in 
blossom 37 


508 


INDEX. 


Grasses  pasture 151 

"        wild 214 

"         cultivated  in  England  151 

"        seeds,  weight  of 33 

"        soils  adapted  to  each...     70 

Green  fox  tail  218 

Ground  nut 425 

Gymnocladus  Canadensis 428 

Gymnopogon  brevifolium....70,  232 

Gymnpstichum  hystrix 72,  223 

Gynerium  argenteum 201 


Halpense Ill 

Harding,  Gen 80 

Hansom.  Timothy 76 

Honey  locust 427 

Hay,  total  production  in  United 

States,  1870 6 

Hay,  swale 14 

herds  grass  or  red  top  75,  212 

hair  grass 156 

hairy  musqnit 160 

hidden  {lowered  panic...  220 
hairy,  slender  p.'Sjnlum  223 

hard'  fescue 228,  255 

horse  shoe  grass 233 

hairy  bush  clover 423 

hog  pea  nut 426 

Hordium,  zeocriton 313 

"        hexastichum 312 

"         pratense....29,  30,  35,  225 

"    '     pusillum 76.  196 

"         distichum ...72,  312 

"         vulgare...          72,  312 

Holcus  lanatus....29,  30,  31.  33,  194 
u     mollis 33 


Imphee 496 

Importance  oi  grasses 6 

Indian  drop  seed  grass 234 

Indian  reed 236 

Italian  rye  grans 99,  225 

Indian  corn 340 

"         history  of 341 

"        varieties  of 347 

"         experiments     with 

seeds 349,  350 

Indian  ci -rn,  Northern 356,  357 

Southern 356,  357 

"        comparisons  of  yel- 
low and  white..  358 

Indian  corn,  cultivation  of 359 


Indian  corn,  Prof.  Daniel's  ex- 
peiiments 369,  370 

Indian  corn,  cost  of  raising..370,  471 

Indian    corn,    implements    for 
raising.  374 

Indian  corn,  uses  of. 276 

"         experiments     with 
by  H.  S.  Clay 379 

Indian  corn,  experiments  with 
by  Prof.  Moses 379 

Indian  corn,  as  a  hay  and  for- 
age crop 381 

Indian  crop,  analysis  of,  before 
and  after  eusilage 386 

Indian  corn,  statistics  of 387 

"        table  of  export  388,  389 
"         tables  orf  the  values 
of  exported 390,  361,  392,  392 

Indian  corn,  tables  of  the  values 
of,  raised  in  Tennessee 394 

Indian  corn,  tables  of   average 
prices  of,  in  New  York  city...  395 


Jackson,  Gen'l.  W.  H 83 

Japan  clover  or  king  grass 209 

Joint  grass 223 


Lands 18 

:     difference  in  value  of 21 

"     value  of  before  the  war...      18 

"     value  of  in  Europe 19 

"     value  of  in  Kentucky  and 

Missouri 19 

Laws  and  Gilbert,  experiments,     27 

46 

Lawson 257 

Leersia 70,237,  238 

Leguminous,  Tennessee  415, 416,  417 

Lentils  411 

Leptochloa  mucronata 71,  161 

Lespedeza..? 209,  422,  423 

List  of  true  grasses 73 

Locust 421 

Lolium,..29,  30,  31,  33,  72,  98,     99 

101 

Lucerne 145,  255 

Lupine 412,  419 

Lotus..  .' 33 


M 

Manures 27,  46,47,  290 


INDEX. 


509 


PAGEt 

Marbury,P.  H 87 

Meadows,  management  of 40,  239 

"  time  and  manner  of 

sowing 269 

Meadows  cutting,  curing  and 

storing... 269,274,  277,  283 

Meadows,  troublesome  plant*...  286 

Medicago 33, 145,  420 

Militotus  Alba 420 

Mesquite  bean 413 

u  grass 233 

Mexican  Muhlenbergia 155,  224 

Millet T. 103,  255 

Milk  Pea 426 

Melica  mutica 71,  231 

Millium 33,  73 

Morgan,  Sam'l  D.,  letter  from....  202 

Muhlenbergia,..70,  74,  155,  156,  233 

..  234 


Nimble  Will 155,  234 

Nodding  Fescue  grass 228 

Number  of  varieties  of  grass....     10 


Oats,  description  of. 396 

"    name.- of  different  varieties  397 

"    win;er 400 

"    time  of  sowing 401 

"    manner  of  cutting 403 

Old  Witch  grass 220 

Onobrychis  saliva 33,  148 

Orchard  grass 89,  212',  255 

Oryza  eativa 406 

Pale  manna  grass 231 


Pampas  grass 201 

Panicum 214 

'•         Germanicum 39     78 

crusgalli 74,  197,  221 

sanguinale.. .71,  73,101  199 

filiforme 73,  219 

"         glabrum 73,  218 

"        agrostoides 73,  219 

anceps 73 

"         proliferum 73 

"         antumnale  73 

"     *  amarum 73 

"        virgatum 73 

"        capillare 220 

"        latifolium 220 


PAGE. 

Panicum  clandestinum 220 

miliaceum '..73,  108 

'          pauciflorum 73,  219 

'          dichotomum 73,221 

'          virgatum 221 

Italica 103 

Paspalumlaeve..... 73,  162,  222 

"         distichuum 13,  223 

digitaria 13,  223 

racemulocum 152 

undutalum 152 

ciliatifolium 152,  220 

fluitans 252 

Petalostemen  ioliosus 420 

"  decumbeus 421 

"  candidus 421 

corynibosus 421 

Perennial  Rye  grass 255 

clover 255 

Pencil  flower 422 

Pendb-ton/E.  M 209 

Peanuts 412,  420,  435 

Pennsylvania  Eatonia 230 

Pea 437 

Pea,  milk 426 

Phalaris   canariensis 73,  206 

Phaseolus  perennis 425 

"        diversifolius 425 

"        helvotus 425 

Phalaris  arundinacea 33,  204 

Phlenm  pratense..30,  33,  39,  60,     70 

...     75 

Pragmites  communis 72,  188 

Poa 229 

"     annua 30,31,39,  71,  161 

"     pratensis...30,  31,  33,  39, 62,     71 

, 163 

Poa  nemoralis 33,71,94,  162 

"     compressa 39,94,152,  163 

"     alsodes 229 

"     sylvestris 229 

"     debilis 229 

"     serotina 152 

"     flexuosa  152 

"    brevifolia 152 

Pommede  prairie 413 

Poverty  grass 232 

Prairie  grass 156 

Prolific  panic 199 

Purple  bunch  clover 423 

Pungent   eragrostis 230 

Pisum  sativum 437 

Polygonum  fagopyrum 330 

Proralea  esculenta 413 

"        subaculis 413,  420 

"        melilotoides 240 


510 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Pungent  eragrostis 220 

Polymorphous  panic 221 

Proliferous  panic  220 

Polk.  Hon.  M.  T.,  remarks  by..  209 
Polk,  H.  M.,  letter  from 438 


T 


Tables,  Prof.  Way 26,     29 

Prof.  Wolff 34,     35 

"        Wolff' and  Knop 36,     37 

of  grasses 66,67,     68 

list  of  true  grasses 70, 

Tables,  of  seeds  ior  pasture 190 

"         of  number  of  plants  to 
foot 251 

Tables,  of  depth  that  seeds  will 
germinate 255 

Tables  of  seeds  to  be  sown  to- 
gether  257,  158,  259,  260,  261 

262,  263 

Tables  of  comparative  value  of 
grasses ; 288,  289 

Tables  of  composition  of   wood 
ashes 298 

Table   of   ingredients    of    ma- 
nures   308 

Table  of  elements  of  plant  food..  309 
"     of     value  of     buckwheat 
hay 335 

Table  of  nutriment  in  corn 357 

'•     of  yellow  and  white  corn 
compared 358 

Table  of  the  method  of  cultiva- 
ting corn 364 

Ktecale  cereale 72,  408  I  Table  of  preparation  of  soil 365 


Q 


Quaking  grass 183 

Questions  and  Answers 452 


Ravenel,H.  W 211 

Kice,  description  of  406 

"     method  of  culture 407 

Robinia   pseudo  acacia 421 

"         viscosa  421 

hispidia 421 

Robertson  County,  grasses  in...  485 

Bye,  description  oi 408 

"     time  of  sowing  409 

"     product  in  Uuited  States...  410 

"        in  Tennessee 410 


Schrankia  uncinata  429 

"        angustata 429 

Selecting  of  seeds  for  meadows..  247 

Setaria  verticillata 74,  218 

"       glauca  , 74,  218 

"       viridis ...74,  218 


of  plant  food  removed 309, 

;     of  export  of  corn 388,  3S& 

"     of  value  of   corn  export- 
ed  390,  391,  392,  393 

Table  of  value  of  crops  in  Ten- 
nessee.... 


Italica 74   Table  of  average  price  of  grain 


Germanica 107 

Sinclair,  Geo.   experiments   by 

26,  195 

Sinclair  and  Way,  what   they 

accomplished 27 

Sorghum,  nigrum 492 

Sorghum  nutans 74 

vulgare 74 

"        saccharatum 74,  322 

Sporobulus  junceus 70 

serotinus 70 

"          indicus 152,  234 

Stipa  avenacea 70,  136,  232 

Strombocarpus  pubescens 413 

Stylosanthes  elatior 422 

Stockbridge,  Prof.  Levi.... 129 

Sour  grasses 14 

Soils...  29 


394 
395 


in  JSTe»r  York 
Tennessee,  position  of  as  a  bor- 
der State 8 

Tennessee,  as  a  grazing  State....      8 
Tennessee,  conversion   from    a 

cotton  to  a  grazing  State 9 

Tennessee,  a  grass  region 7 

"        milk  vetch 422 

Tick  foil 424 

"     trefoil 424 

Trifoliuin  pratense....30,  33,  39,  115 

420 

Trifolium  repens 30,  33,  39,  72 

72,  207,  420 

Trifolium  arvense 420 

reflexum 420 

Trifolium  carolinianum  420 

Trifolium   hybridura 142 

"        erectum , 144 


INDEX. 


511 


PAGE. 

Trifoliam  incarnatum 144 

Trifolinm  pratense  perenne 3g 

Tricuspis  seslerioides  71,     88 

Trisetum  flavescens  33 

Triticum  repens 72,  292,  226 

caninum  72,  226 

Tripsacum  dactyloides...74, 107,  217 

Tricuspis  sesleroides 235 

Tephrosia  Virginiana  421 

"        spicata 421 

Thermopgis  Mollis 427 


U 


Uniola  gracilis 74,  226 

"       latifolia r. 72 

Upright  chess  227 


Vicia   Americana 149 

"     Micrantha... 422 

"     Americana    149,  422 

Virginia  Ly  me  grass 224 

Voarideza  subterrania 412 

Voelcker.  Prof.,  article  on  clo- 

138 


ver. 


W 


Wallace,  J.  K.  P.,  letter  from..  135 
Washington,  J.  E.,  on  grasses...  485 

Wolff  and  Knop 195 

Wolff,  Prof.,  tables  by 34 

Woburn,  experiments 26 


Yard  grass 231 

Yellow  oat  grass 255 

Yellow  wood 427 


Z 


Value  of  lands  before  the  war..  18 

Value  of  grass  in  agriculture...  6  ! 

Variable  panic  grass 220  j 

Vetch  tares 149  j 

Velvet  lawn  grass 194  I  Zizania  aquatica  237 

"  analysis  of 195         "      milliacea 237 

Vilt'a  vagina  flora  ., 70,  236  I  Zea  mays ,  340 


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